Alaska’s US attorney confirms criminal and civil election probes

Alaska US attorney Michael Heyman confirmed on 30 October 2026, that separate criminal and civil investigations are examining an alleged effort to confuse Senate voters by recruiting a candidate with a name similar to the Republican incumbent’s, The Guardian said. Heyman did not identify the potential crimes under investigation.

The US Justice Department also asked a federal judge to order Alaska election officials to preserve and separate all ballots ranking Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., at any position, for a possible investigation into voter confusion. The filing is a request for a court order, not itself an order changing how votes are counted.

The dispute follows an earlier attempt by Alaska election authorities to disqualify the retired teacher, alleging that his candidacy aimed to confuse voters. Before the August primary, the Alaska Supreme Court allowed him onto the ballot. He, incumbent Senator Dan S. Sullivan and Peltola then finished among the top 4 candidates in the nonpartisan primary.

The recruitment allegation and denials

Peltola, the Democratic challenger, represented Alaska as a US representative from 2022 to 2025. Senator Sullivan is a two-term Republican incumbent. Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. is a retired schoolteacher with no previous political experience; both Sullivans qualified for the general-election ballot.

The New York Times alleged that people connected to Peltola’s campaign and senior Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee aides tried to recruit the retired teacher as a spoiler candidate—someone intended to draw votes away from another contender. Its account, described by the BBC, drew on text messages and interviews with 12 people who participated in the plan, were told about it or were approached as prospective candidates.

Speaking in Juneau on 29 October, Peltola said she knew nothing about any candidate other than herself and the incumbent and was not interested in tricking voters. Her campaign denied the recruitment allegations, and Daniel J. Sullivan denied links to her campaign. No charges had been filed as of the following evening.

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy ordered a separate inquiry. He said the Times account showed organized recruitment intended to confuse voters and supported earlier state election findings. Senator Sullivan and his allies accuse Democrats of trying to confuse voters. On 29 October, President Donald Trump called for Peltola to be removed from the ballot and prosecuted.

How voters can distinguish the candidates

The ballot lists the senator as “Sullivan, Dan S. (Registered Republican) Incumbent” and the retired teacher as “Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr.”, with no party affiliation. Alaska officials say those distinctions minimize the risk of confusion.

Alaska uses ranked-choice voting, in which voters list candidates in order of preference. During counting, the lowest remaining candidate is eliminated and that candidate’s ballots transfer to their next available preference. State officials say voters unsure between the Sullivans can rank them first and second, allowing their vote to count for either before another candidate.

The separate request to block certification

Beyond preserving ballots, the Justice Department seeks to block or delay certification—the state’s formal confirmation of the result—under a specific condition: Senator Sullivan loses to Peltola but would have won if every ballot cast for the other Sullivan had counted in the senator’s favor. The department then seeks an investigation into possible confusion. That calculation is the department’s proposed trigger, not a finding about whom those voters intended to support.

The department invokes the National Voter Registration Act. Alaska argues that the law concerns registration, not ballot counting or certification, Alaska Public Media said in its October 27 account. State election officials seek dismissal, supported by Peltola’s campaign and voting-rights groups.

The Alaska Department of Law argues that delaying certification only when a particular candidate loses would interfere with election administration, threaten election integrity and sow distrust. The state also says investigating voter intent would violate voters' right to a secret ballot.

The federal lawsuit was filed on 22 October 2026, after voting had begun and nearly 4 months after the state Supreme Court directed officials to include the retired teacher, Judge Sharon Gleason wrote. The Justice Department amended the suit on 28 October to incorporate the Times account and Dunleavy’s announcement of an investigation.

The Alaska contest could help determine control of the US Senate. US District Judge Gleason has expedited briefing and still has dismissal motions to consider. The Justice Department has requested a ballot-preservation order before Monday, ahead of next week’s midterm elections.