Court Rules That ‘Decoy’ Candidate With Same Name As Senator Can Run
The Alaska Supreme Court ruled Monday that a candidate with the same name as the incumbent senator is eligible to run against him.
The Alaska Supreme Court ruled Monday that a candidate with the same name as the incumbent senator is eligible to run against him.
Republican Senate candidate Dan J. Sullivan will now face Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan in the all-party primary election. The court order of less than 100 words said that Dan J. Sullivan can run “within the confines of existing Alaska ballot design law.”
The Alaska Division of Elections originally ruled him ineligible to run, claiming he filed as a way to confuse voters since he has the same name as the incumbent senator. The Alaska Superior Court overturned the Alaska Division of Elections’ decision. The state appealed, leading to the Alaska Supreme Court’s ruling.
The justices argued that the ballot can include a way of differentiating the two candidates, such as a middle initial, according to Alaska Public Media.
“The Alaska Supreme Court is enabling ‘Decoy Dan’s’ deception campaign. State officials clearly have both the authority and the duty to protect the integrity of the democratic process from candidates who only exist to mislead and confuse voters,” Jason Snead, Executive Director of Honest Elections Project (HEP), said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
HEP along with 14 states filed amicus briefs supporting the Division of Elections.
“Fortunately, the Court left discretion for election officials to clearly mark this imposter candidate in a way that distinguishes him from the sitting senator whose supporters he seems intent on deceiving. That is the bare minimum the integrity of our elections demands, and I applaud Alaska election officials for taking this issue incredibly seriously,” Snead added.