Alaska Senate Race Puts 2 Dan Sullivans on November Ballot as Peltola Wins 48%

Q: How will election officials design the final ranked-choice ballot to prevent voter confusion with two identically named candidates?

Alaska election officials are expected to distinguish the two Dan Sullivans by using fuller, different ballot labels rather than printing two identical names. That approach was already used on the primary ballot. The incumbent appeared as “Dan S. Sullivan,” with his party listed and an added “incumbent” designation. The Petersburg candidate appeared as “Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.,” a longer version of his name intended, according to a state elections official, to reduce confusion. Reporting on the primary said that formatting choice was specifically made to help voters tell them apart. For the November ranked-choice ballot, the Division of Elections is likely to carry over the same identifying details into the ranked columns: full or middle-initial names, suffix where applicable, party designation if shown under Alaska rules, and the incumbent label for the sitting senator. In a ranked-choice layout, each candidate gets a separate row and voters mark preferences across columns, so those extra identifiers become especially important. There is no public indication from the materials provided that officials plan a special redesign beyond those distinctions. But the evidence suggests the final ballot will rely on the same core tools already used successfully in the primary sample and official ballot formatting: “Dan S. Sullivan” for the incumbent and “Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.” for the other candidate, along with any permitted status labels, to minimize mistaken rankings.

3 articles · Updated · Alaska Public Media News · Aug 18

Preliminary Alaska results show Mary Peltola, incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan and Republican Dan J. Sullivan advancing to the November Senate ballot, with a fourth spot still too close to call.
Nearly 48% for Peltola and more than 43% for Sullivan left the second Dan Sullivan far behind, but still likely to qualify under Alaska’s top-four primary system.
A 39-vote margin separated Democrat David Leslie from Republican Gerald Heikes for fourth place, while super PACs spent more than $3 million boosting minor candidates in the race.
Republicans have tried to block Dan J. Sullivan as a potential source of voter confusion, with Trump calling him an “imposter,” but he says he is running to offer an alternative.
One of only four Senate tossups, the Alaska race is drawing national money as control of the chamber hangs in the balance; Peltola had raised more than $18 million by July, versus Sullivan’s nearly $12 million.