Home · Politics · Oct 30 archive
DOJ Intensifies Investigation Into Alaska Senate Race Ballot Scandal
· Confirmed
In Short: The Justice Department has intensified its investigation into the Alaska Senate race ballot scandal, issuing subpoenas and document preservation requests following a New York Times report that Democratic candidate Mary Peltola’s campaign recruited a second candidate to draw votes from Republican Senator Dan Sullivan.
According to officials familiar with the investigation, the Justice Department has already issued dozens of subpoenas to individuals believed to be connected to the plan.
President Trump has called for a criminal prosecution of Peltola and her campaign, while Alaska’s Republican governor, Mike Dunleavy, has ordered a state criminal and civil investigation.
The Justice Department has also sued Alaska at Trump’s behest, seeking to stop the certification of the Senate race if votes for the other Sullivan cause the senator to lose.
Republican election lawyer Benjamin Ginsberg described the situation as 'performance art this close to the election,' while Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., criticized the Democratic effort as 'disqualifying' and a 'latest attempt by Democrats to defraud the American people.'
Peltola has denied any involvement, stating she 'knew nothing about any other candidate on the ballot except for me and the incumbent.' Her campaign has also denied the allegations reported by the Times.
The House Oversight Committee has launched its own investigation into the matter, with Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward writing in a court filing that state officials should 'preserve and segregate all ballots ranking Daniel J. Sullivan for the purposes of investigating whether such ranking was the product of voter confusion.'
The Justice Department gave officials just 48 hours to review the list and said it would sue the state if officials did not sequester ballots from those whose citizenship it could not confirm.
Election officials in dozens of states are preparing for possible interference on election day and in the days that follow as votes are counted.
The investigation has prompted a surge of law enforcement assets to Alaska, according to Heyman, who cited the recent reporting from The New York Times.
The minute-long ad from the Republican campaign opens with a clip of Peltola saying, 'I think that Alaskans have had it up to here with the lying and the dishonesty,' with text about her campaign’s reported recruitment of spoiler candidates.
Peltola called the New York Times report 'just another distraction' on Thursday.
The Justice Department's actions reflect a broader effort to maintain election integrity and address voter confusion in the Alaska Senate race.
What this adds
NBC News reported that the Justice Department has issued at least three dozen new subpoenas and document preservation requests as part of its probe into the Alaska Senate race.
Background
NBC News reported that the Justice Department has issued at least three dozen new subpoenas and document preservation requests as part of its probe into the Alaska Senate race.
What's confirmed
- The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is intensifying its investigation into allegations of ballot stacking against Alaska's Democratic Senate candidate, Mary Peltola.
- "Alaskans have a fundamental right to vote for the candidate they actually intend to support," Dunleavy stated in a social media post.
- Peltola has denied any involvement, stating she "knew nothing about any other candidate on the ballot except for me and the incumbent." Her campaign has also denied the allegations reported by the Times.
What's still developing
- DOJ ramps up investigation into Alaska Senate race ballot scandal | Fox Business Video Menu Fox Business Home Watch Live Shows Topics Log In Avatar Join the conversation Log in to comment on videos and join in on the fun.
- Asked on Fox News whether this was disqualifying for Peltola, Dunleavy said it was “hugely problematic” for her.
- He also said he does not believe the federal government can prove it has standing in the case and said “I don’t see a federal crime,” in the attempt to recruit alternate candidates.
- “Because this is an ongoing investigative matter, we can’t discuss the specifics of those investigative steps, and who or may or may not be involved,” he said.
- “The Alaskans for Mary campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign. Like Mary, our campaign is focused on lowering costs and fixing the rigged system in DC,” a campaign spokesperson said.
- Sullivan on the ballot prompted the DOJ to file a lawsuit, arguing it unfairly benefits Peltola.
- According to one of the lawsuits, at least one county sheriffs’ office in Colorado has already been cooperating with ICE and conducted “warrant checks at polling locations” this year.
- Rick Hasen, a law professor and director of UCLA’s Safeguarding Democracy Project, published a white paper urging judges who might see warrant applications for ballot seizure to consider ordering copies of the ballot to allow the election certification process to continue.
- “The lesson of Fulton County was that you have to be ready to be in court literally in minutes,” Norm Eisen, co-founder and executive chair of Democracy Defenders Action, tells TIME.