Federal authorities investigate alleged Alaska ballot scheme involving duplicate candidates

The United States Department of Justice and federal prosecutors in Alaska have launched criminal and civil investigations into an alleged ballot-stacking scheme in the state Senate race, according to reports by Al Jazeera, the BBC, and the Guardian. President Donald Trump ordered the Justice Department inquiry after allegations surfaced that aides to Democratic candidate Mary Peltola recruited a retired teacher also named Dan Sullivan to run in the election. AP News and Yahoo reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation visited a donor to the second candidate as part of the widening inquiry. [1][2][5][7][8]

The Alaska Senate ballot for the November 3 election features two candidates named Dan Sullivan. ABC News Australia reported that one candidate is Republican incumbent Dan S. Sullivan, who is seeking a third six-year term. The other candidate is Dan J. Sullivan, a retired elementary school teacher who entered the race in May. Al Jazeera reported that the second candidate is a retired teacher with no prior political experience. [1][3]

Democrat Mary Peltola has denied knowing anything about an alleged scheme to put a second Dan Sullivan on the ballot, according to reports by the BBC and the Guardian. Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan and his allies have accused the Democrats of trying to manipulate the ballot to confuse voters and siphon support from the incumbent. The BBC reported that the Trump administration has requested election officials to separate ballots that rank the retired teacher. [1][2][4][5][6]

The 2026 election will select a member of the United States Senate to represent Alaska using a ranked-choice voting system. As FTMQ News reported earlier, the allegations followed a report in The New York Times, prompting state authorities to open official investigations into the Democratic campaign. [1][10][12][13]