Over the weekend, Honest Elections Project filed an amicus brief at the Alaska Supreme Court urging it to keep phony candidate Dan J. Sullivan off the Alaska ballot. Specifically, the brief argues:
- Dan J. Sullivan’s candidacy is not a real one, but a deliberate stunt: Dan J. Sullivan has tried to borrow Sen. Sullivan’s middle initial, his nickname, and his party label. He has also mimicked Sen. Sullivan’s website. His intent is clearly to mislead voters.
- Alaska has both the power and the duty to keep phony candidates off the ballot to protect the integrity of the ballot itself, and the Constitution does not require states to grant them ballot access.
- This case has precedent in American elections, and other states have stopped similar attempts. Nebraska’s high court barred a person who tried to be listed with the same name as another candidate because allowing that would be “to sanction a patent fraud…”
Jason Snead, Executive Director of Honest Elections Project, released the following statement:
“The facts of this case are clear and egregious: Dan J. Sullivan—aka ‘Decoy Dan’—seems determined to orchestrate a fraud on the people of Alaska. States across the country and throughout American history have stopped phony candidacies like this one to preserve the integrity of the process. Alaska officials have done the same, and it is time for the Alaska Supreme Court to respect their authority, uphold the rule of law, and safeguard Alaska’s elections by keeping this obviously phony candidate off the ballot.”
BACKGROUND
This month, Alaska election officials determined that Dan J. Sullivan’s candidacy is not being made in good faith and ruled the candidate ineligible to appear on the ballot. The Alaska Superior Court heard the candidate’s appeal over the weekend and overruled that determination, granting the candidate access to the ballot. The Alaska Supreme Court will now hear the case on Monday. A decision must come down by Tuesday, June 30, before ballots are printed.
A link to the amicus brief can be found HERE.