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DOJ Sues to Block Alaska Senate Certification if Republican Loses
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silence7 lemmy.world silence7@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-06-07
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164   Original
ryper lemmy.ca ryper@lemmy.ca
Joined: 2023-07-07
#2 · Quote Reply

Here, the DOJ argues that the presence of a presumed spoiler candidate on the ballot, Daniel J. Sullivan, will taint the race by confusing voters who intended to vote for the incumbent Republican senator, Daniel S. Sullivan. It demands that the judge block any certification until an investigation can “determine whether votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan were meant to be cast for Senator Sullivan.”

They do have a bit of point; Republican voters are certainly not the most informed. But don't the ballots list a candidate's party beside their name?

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Arsecroft lemmy.sdf.org Arsecroft@lemmy.sdf.org
Joined: 2023-06-30
#3 · Quote Reply

Here, the DOJ argues that the presence of a presumed spoiler candidate on the ballot, Daniel J. Sullivan, will taint the race by confusing voters who intended to vote for the incumbent Republican senator, Daniel S. Sullivan. It demands that the judge block any certification until an investigation can “determine whether votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan were meant to be cast for Senator Sullivan...

I imagine that they assume the people that are voting for them are easily confused and not smarter than the average bear.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article317556996.html

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Maeve kbin.earth Maeve@kbin.earth
Joined: 2024-06-16
#4 · Quote Reply

These are the same people who run Republican candidates with the same or similar names of other candidates on ballots, as a winning tactic?

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Ep1cFac3pa1m lemmy.world Ep1cFac3pa1m@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-07-02
#5 · Quote Reply

These are the same people who run Republican candidates with the same or similar names of other candidates on ballots, as a winning tactic?

I think the argument is that Democrats helped a 3rd party candidate with a similar name to the Republican candidate get on the ballot in the hopes some voters would accidentally pick the 3rd party candidate, thereby “stealing” votes from the Republican. It’s entirely plausible that’s exactly what happened, so I’d be pissed, too, but I feel no sympathy for them with all the other bullshit they’re trying to pull.

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ThePantser sh.itjust.works ThePantser@sh.itjust.works
Joined: 2025-02-19
#6 · Quote Reply

I imagine that they assume the people that are voting for them are easily confused and not smarter than the average bear. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article317556996.html

If they want smarter voters they shouldn't de-fund education. They can have the day they voted for.

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DjangoFett lemmy.zip DjangoFett@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2026-07-05
#7 · Quote Reply

I imagine that they assume the people that are voting for them are easily confused and not smarter than the average bear. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article317556996.html

That's doing bears a major disservice.

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kn33 lemmy.world kn33@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-12
#8 · Quote Reply

Here, the DOJ argues that the presence of a presumed spoiler candidate on the ballot, Daniel J. Sullivan, will taint the race by confusing voters who intended to vote for the incumbent Republican senator, Daniel S. Sullivan. It demands that the judge block any certification until an investigation can “determine whether votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan were meant to be cast for Senator Sullivan...

Aren't they both running as Republicans? I thought I heard that in Alaska you get to declare your party and that's what goes on the ballot, not policing who declares what based on the party's desires.

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KC_Royalz lemmy.world KC_Royalz@lemmy.world
Joined: 2026-04-02
#9 · Quote Reply

I think the argument is that Democrats helped a 3rd party candidate with a similar name to the Republican candidate get on the ballot in the hopes some voters would accidentally pick the 3rd party candidate, thereby “stealing” votes from the Republican. It’s entirely plausible that’s exactly what happened, so I’d be pissed, too, but I feel no sympathy for them with all the other bullshit they’r...

Boohoo Republicans did this shit in fucking red Nebraska during the primary. They ran a guy on the Democrat ticket. A pastor from Paxton. He said he was a Democrat but he was further right than the Republican

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gh0stb4tz lemmy.world gh0stb4tz@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-11-18
#10 · Quote Reply

These are the same people who run Republican candidates with the same or similar names of other candidates on ballots, as a winning tactic?

Exactly. Republicans have used this tactic multiple times, but now they’re crying when someone else does it to them.

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IHeartBadCode fedia.io IHeartBadCode@fedia.io
Joined: 2024-08-14
#11 · Quote Reply

I think the argument is that Democrats helped a 3rd party candidate with a similar name to the Republican candidate get on the ballot in the hopes some voters would accidentally pick the 3rd party candidate, thereby “stealing” votes from the Republican. It’s entirely plausible that’s exactly what happened, so I’d be pissed, too, but I feel no sympathy for them with all the other bullshit they’r...

Isn't ticket voting available there? Can't Republicans just say "Republican" and boom that locks their vote for those races?

I can't feel sorry for them giving how they're just redistricting in the middle of an election year.

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Arsecroft lemmy.sdf.org Arsecroft@lemmy.sdf.org
Joined: 2023-06-30
#12 · Quote Reply

That's doing bears a major disservice.

think of the average bear, now realize that half of them are dumber than that

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Bustedknuckles lemmy.world Bustedknuckles@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-07-04
#13 · Quote Reply

I think the argument is that Democrats helped a 3rd party candidate with a similar name to the Republican candidate get on the ballot in the hopes some voters would accidentally pick the 3rd party candidate, thereby “stealing” votes from the Republican. It’s entirely plausible that’s exactly what happened, so I’d be pissed, too, but I feel no sympathy for them with all the other bullshit they’r...

A problem with this argument is that Alaska has ranked choice voting though, right? They could just rank both dans

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scutiger lemmy.world scutiger@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-12
#14 · Quote Reply

think of the average bear, now realize that half of them are dumber than that

There is significant overlap between the smartest bears and the dumbest people.

Also the dumbest bears and the dumbest people.

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DokPsy lemmy.world DokPsy@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-07-18
#15 · Quote Reply

Here, the DOJ argues that the presence of a presumed spoiler candidate on the ballot, Daniel J. Sullivan, will taint the race by confusing voters who intended to vote for the incumbent Republican senator, Daniel S. Sullivan. It demands that the judge block any certification until an investigation can “determine whether votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan were meant to be cast for Senator Sullivan...

Senator Dan Sullivan and opponent Dan Sullivan, not to be confused with Mayor Dan Sullivan, are both running on a Republican ticket. I've been watching this unfold for a while and it's been glorious

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DokPsy lemmy.world DokPsy@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-07-18
#16 · Quote Reply

think of the average bear, now realize that half of them are dumber than that

I'm constantly reminded when dealing with people at work of the park rangers response to difficulties in keeping bears out of the trash. "There is significant overlap between the smartest bears and the dumbest people"

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StabbingSky lemmy.zip StabbingSky@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2026-04-30
#17 · Quote Reply

Isn't ticket voting available there? Can't Republicans just say "Republican" and boom that locks their vote for those races? I can't feel sorry for them giving how they're just redistricting in the middle of an election year.

Nope, only 6 States have that: Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Oklahoma, and South Carolina.

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StabbingSky lemmy.zip StabbingSky@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2026-04-30
#18 · Quote Reply

I think the argument is that Democrats helped a 3rd party candidate with a similar name to the Republican candidate get on the ballot in the hopes some voters would accidentally pick the 3rd party candidate, thereby “stealing” votes from the Republican. It’s entirely plausible that’s exactly what happened, so I’d be pissed, too, but I feel no sympathy for them with all the other bullshit they’r...

It would be irritating, but I don't see how it would be illegal.

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sportsjorts lemmy.zip sportsjorts@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2026-05-02
#19 · Quote Reply

Traitors to the U.S.

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Zaktor sopuli.xyz Zaktor@sopuli.xyz
Joined: 2023-08-22
#20 · Quote Reply

Not the Republican party, the Justice Department. We pay for this and DOJ lawyers received this task and said "ok". Those lawyers need to lose their jobs in the next administration.

Also, Alaska's supreme court, the ultimate authority on what kind of candidate is legal to run in Alaska, already decided this. The DOJ has no role.

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Tolookah discuss.tchncs.de Tolookah@discuss.tchncs.de
Joined: 2023-06-12
#21 · Quote Reply

So Alaska gets no senator? Okay I guess

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Maeve kbin.earth Maeve@kbin.earth
Joined: 2024-06-16
#22 · Quote Reply

I think the argument is that Democrats helped a 3rd party candidate with a similar name to the Republican candidate get on the ballot in the hopes some voters would accidentally pick the 3rd party candidate, thereby “stealing” votes from the Republican. It’s entirely plausible that’s exactly what happened, so I’d be pissed, too, but I feel no sympathy for them with all the other bullshit they’r...

I'm saying it's incorrect for either party to do that deliberately, and that the party who has a long history of doing that crying about it is wild.

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Soulphite reddthat.com Soulphite@reddthat.com
Joined: 2025-12-15
#23 · Quote Reply

Republicans need a fresh new renaming. They're now called Rapists. Same R next to their name but with a better descriptive word.

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grue lemmy.world grue@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-13
#24 · (edited) Quote Reply

Senator Dan Sullivan and opponent Dan Sullivan, not to be confused with Mayor Dan Sullivan, are both running on a Republican ticket. I've been watching this unfold for a while and it's been glorious

Wait, how are two Republicans on the general election ballot? Shouldn't one of them have been eliminated in the primary?

Looking it up to answer my own question (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_in_Alaska):

In 2020, Alaskan voters approved an initiative to implement a nonpartisan blanket top-four primary with a single, open primary where candidates from all parties are listed on the ballot and the top four vote-getters advance to the general election. This system went into effect with the 2022 elections. Prior to this, registered voters in Alaska were given a choice between three primary ballots reflecting a semi-closed primary system. Specifically, Democratic, Libertarian, Alaskan Independence and Independent candidates were listed on one ballot available to all registered voters and Republican candidates were listed on a second ballot available to voters registered as Republican, Nonpartisan or Undeclared. In 2024, Alaskans voted on a measure to repeal the system and return to partisan primaries; the measure narrowly failed to pass.

LMAO, that's amazing!

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silence7 lemmy.world silence7@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-06-07
#25 · Quote Reply

So Alaska gets no senator? Okay I guess

That's a half seat worse than if a Democrat is seated

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marv99 feddit.org marv99@feddit.org
Joined: 2024-06-22
#26 · (edited) Quote Reply

Not the Republican party, the Justice Department. We pay for this and DOJ lawyers received this task and said "ok". Those lawyers need to lose their jobs in the next administration. Also, Alaska's supreme court, the ultimate authority on what kind of candidate is legal to run in Alaska, already decided this. The DOJ has no role.

Lose their jobs? Fascist criminals need to face Nuremberg trials to prevent such things happen for the next 50 years.

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jballs sh.itjust.works jballs@sh.itjust.works
Joined: 2023-06-13
#27 · Quote Reply

Wait, how are two Republicans on the general election ballot? Shouldn't one of them have been eliminated in the primary? Looking it up to answer my own question (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_in_Alaska): In 2020, Alaskan voters approved an initiative to implement a nonpartisan blanket top-four primary with a single, open primary where candidates from all parties are listed on the ball...

Wait, so this alternate Dan Sullivan already placed in the top 4 primary? What the fuck.

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mkwt lemmy.world mkwt@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-18
#28 · Quote Reply

Aside from all the insane legal theories, the relief they're requesting is also insane and quite anti-democratic:

They want an injunction that decertifies the election results but only if the Republican guy loses by less than however many votes the other Dan Sullivan gets.

It's like, election loss insurance, or something.

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grue lemmy.world grue@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-13
#29 · Quote Reply

Wait, so this alternate Dan Sullivan already placed in the top 4 primary? What the fuck.

Sounds to me like he has legitimate supporters, undermining the Tump lackeys' "spoiler" argument even more.

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