When Alaska voters cast their ballots during the August 18 jungle senate primary, there will be two Dan Sullivans on the Republican ballot, incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan (pictured left) and another man who has been dubbed Decoy Dan, otherwise Dan J. Sullivan (pictured right). Democrats hope that Monday's decision by Alaska Superior Court, along with Alaska's convoluted ranked-choice voting system, will confuse enough voters to flip control of the U.S. Senate.
According to the New York Post, Alaska’s high court is allowing Decoy Dan on the ballot despite the concerns that voters might get confused.
The Guardian notes previous arguments against Decoy Dan for running, mainly the fact that he was not previously affiliated with the Republican party until now and tried to register his name as “Dan S. Sullivan.”
A spokesperson for the GOP senator says they are disappointed with the court’s decision because Decoy Dan’s lawyer revealed he was running to deceive voters. Sen. Sullivan told Fox News that Decoy Dan is a Democratic plant.
Jason Snead is executive director of Honest Elections Project: Action. Fortunately, the court left, he says, discretion for election officials to clearly mark this imposter candidate in a way that distinguishes Decoy Dan from the current senator, whose supporters he seems intent on deceiving.
"There is going to be some differentiation on the ballot. Actually, this came up in the oral argument, the Alaska Supreme Court, that election officials will be able to make some distinctions, including dropping party affiliation from Decoy Dan's listing,” Snead says.
He explains that the listing of party affiliation is not the only way to differentiate between the two candidates.
“He's going to be listed on the ballot as Dan J. Sullivan, and then the Sen. Dan S. Sullivan is going to be listed as a Republican and is going to get a marker that he is the incumbent on the ballot," Snead states.
Alaska state officials, he says, clearly have both the authority and the duty to protect the integrity of the democratic process from candidates who only exist to mislead and confuse voters.
