The Alaska Supreme Court has ruled that Dan Sullivan can continue to vote

The Alaska Supreme Court has ruled that the representative of the Republican challenger of the same name to Sen. Dan Sullivan can continue on the ballot, a decision an election expert says exposes glaring flaws in the voting system that ranked in Alaska and among the top four.

The Alaska Supreme Court ruled Monday that Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher, is eligible to appear on the Republican primary ballot with Sen. Dan Sullivan, affirming a lower court ruling keeping him on the ballot despite Republicans and the Division of Elections arguing that Dan J. Sullivan was a Democratic candidate or a “potential attempt” by the Democratic Alliance. voters and take away votes from the incumbent.

“It’s clearly an attempt to mislead voters,” Jason Snead, executive director of the Honest Elections Project, told Fox News Digital. “If you look at the facts, they are clearly established.”

Snead pointed to Alaska’s remote choice voting (RCV) and jungle primary as particularly vulnerable to any similarly named tactics because, unlike a party primary, Alaska advances the top four finishers from one primary to the general election, regardless of party affiliation.

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Snead argued that under the typical Republican primary, a candidate he described as a “fraudster” would likely not unseat a legitimate candidate before the general election.

Instead, he said, voters face a crowded ballot for the top four in this year’s Alaska Senate race, with nearly 16 candidates, and confusion over nearly identical names can have significant consequences.

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Sen. Dan Sullivan speaks to a crowd during a campaign rally at the PenAir terminal on Nov. 3, 2014, in Anchorage, Alaska. (David Ryder/Getty Images)

“You really have two problems in one,” Snead said. “You don’t have a primary party. There’s no Republican nominee or Democratic nominee. You have this primary party where everybody runs, and the top four candidates go on to the general election.”

Snead argued that under the party’s common base, a candidate he described as a sham would have little chance of preventing the legitimate Republican nominee from advancing to the general election. Instead, he said, Alaska’s partisan base creates more opportunities for voter confusion.

“If enough of them pick Dan Sullivan wrong, he’ll go general,” Snead said. “Now you have two people named Dan Sullivan on the ballot.”

Snead said the election system can complicate the problem because votes are redistributed after voters are out.

“If you list one person, your vote will be removed if that person is removed,” he said.

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Representative Mary Peltola speaks during the Capitol Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Washington, DC, on Dec. 3, 2024. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu)

He said another possibility is that voters could mistakenly place Dan Sullivan first and Democrat Mary Peltola second, causing those votes to be transferred to Peltola if that candidate is eliminated during the tally.

“There are a lot of traps here,” Snead said. “At the very least, I think this speaks to the fact that selective voting and wild card primaries are very vulnerable in these kinds of games.”

“It’s definitely not a prime-time idea, no matter what pro-choice people are trying to sell us.”

The Alaska Supreme Court ruled that election officials can add more identifying information to a ballot to distinguish between two candidates, leaving those design decisions to the Division of Elections.

Dan J. Sullivan, known to his critics as “Decoy Dan,” has come under scrutiny for ties to Democratic consultant Amber Lee, who was revealed as the author of her campaign launch announcement metadata reviewed by Fox News Digital. Lee has been a vocal supporter of Peltola’s run for office and expressed hope to The Hill in January that the Alaska Democrat would unseat incumbent Sullivan.

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Dan J. Sullivan, who has filed to run for the US Senate in Alaska, poses for a photo in Petersburg, Alaska, on June 26, 2026. (Katie Holmlund/Associated Press)

According to Alaska Director of Elections Carol Beecher, Dan J. Sullivan requested to appear at the primary polling place under the name “Dan Sullivan” despite previously registering as “Daniel J. Sullivan, Jr.” Beecher also noted that his campaign materials look similar to the incumbent Republican campaign and that he was not affiliated with the GOP before jumping into the race just before the filing deadline.

The end of his appointment can be seen as important in the race for the state Senate where Sen. Dan S. Sullivan is seeking a third term in the Republican-leaning state. Democrats hope that former Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, who Senate Minerals Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., helped recruit to the race, will oust Sullivan in November.

In a statement sent to Fox News Digital, Dan J. Sullivan’s campaign said, “Mr. Sullivan is encouraged by yesterday’s decisive victory in the Alaska Supreme Court. To the extent that the Division of Elections is still dealing with how to properly implement the ballot project in a manner consistent with Alaska law and his past campaign, he does not want to comment, has no comment, and does not want to comment.”

Adam Pack of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.