U.S. Attorney Confirms Criminal Inquiry Into Alaska Ballot Name Dispute

ANCHORAGE, Alaska: The chief federal prosecutor in Alaska said Friday that his office opened a criminal investigation into a ballot listing that shares a name with the state's incumbent Republican U.S. senator. U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman said the inquiry has run for several months and that reporting by The New York Times this week about the recruitment of Dan J. Sullivan brought a surge of law enforcement resources into the state.

The Department of Justice filed papers Friday asking a court to order the preservation and segregation of every ballot that ranks Daniel J. Sullivan, so investigators can test whether those rankings reflect voter confusion. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Wilson signed the filing. In the same filing, the department listed questions it wants the Mary Peltola campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to answer about their reported role in recruiting Dan J. Sullivan. That civil case runs alongside the criminal matter Heyman confirmed.

The Justice Department brought the civil action last week to block certification of the Alaska Senate race if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan falls behind Peltola. The department's attorneys wrote that the candidacy of Dan J. Sullivan carries a substantial risk of misleading voters. State attorneys countered that Alaska election officials already separated the two Sullivans on the ballot and that the ranked voting system addresses any confusion. They have asked for a ruling by Monday, saying the case could cast a cloud over the election.

Peltola said Thursday at a campaign rally in Juneau that she knew nothing about any other candidate on the ballot besides herself and the incumbent. "I knew nothing about any other candidate on the ballot except for me and the incumbent," she said. "I am not interested in tricking voters." Dan J. Sullivan has said he had no contact with Peltola's campaign, saying in June, "Zero, none, zilch." Heyman declined to name any potential crimes under review or any targets.

Federal prosecutors issued dozens of grand jury subpoenas and records preservation requests this week, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press. Heyman encouraged the public to send tips. Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy ordered a state investigation, saying reporting on the recruitment of a candidate with the incumbent's name "reveals disturbing new evidence of an organized effort to manipulate Alaska's elections." The governor added that the reporting substantially supports earlier findings by the state elections board.

The Justice Department's filing asks the court to preserve and segregate ballots ranking Daniel J. Sullivan for the purpose of investigating whether such rankings stem from voter confusion. The department's attorneys wrote that these precautionary measures cannot be carried out after Election Day. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals turned down the department's request that California set aside ballots sent to some 20,000 people it contends may not be U.S. citizens; California officials called that list unreliable. State attorneys for Alaska have asked for a decision by Monday.