Alaska kicked Sullivan off the ballot. In 2024, the state argued it couldn't

A day after Daniel J. Sullivan sued the state over his removal from the August primary ballot, what stood out from Monday's House Judiciary hearing wasn't the lawsuit. It was the contradiction the hearing surfaced.

In 2024, when the Alaska Democratic Party tried to keep an incarcerated New York Democrat, Eric Hafner, off the U.S. House general-election ballot, the Division of Elections defended Hafner's spot. In court filings, the Division argued that "candidates cannot be removed from the ballot because they may not, or even probably will not, qualify" and that an administrative complaint "is not the proper forum for a freewheeling investigation into a candidate's political associations." A Superior Court judge agreed in September 2024, denied removal, and held that states cannot add to the U.S. Constitution's qualifications for federal office. The Division took the same narrow view in earlier disputes involving Dustin Darden in 2018, and Jennie Armstrong and David Eastman in 2022.

On June 15, the same Division reversed course. Director Carol Beecher denied Sullivan's candidacy in writing, concluding it "was not filed in good faith for the purpose of genuinely pursuing election as Alaska's U.S. Senator." She cited his party-affiliation switch from Undeclared to Republican in March, similarities between his campaign website and Sen. Dan Sullivan's, and his work with a consultant whose past clients have included Democrats. None of those factors are among the Constitution's three qualifications for the Senate: age, citizenship, and inhabitancy at election.

Legislative Counsel Andrew Dunmire told the committee the regulation the Division cited does not give the agency authority to disqualify a candidate. If voter confusion is the real concern, Dunmire's memo argued, ballot design — listing full names or middle initials — could address it without removing either candidate.

Former Lt. Gov. Loren Leman submitted written testimony that during his 2002–2006 tenure, the Division's own staff vetted candidate filings for constitutional, statutory, and regulatory requirements, and that he never encountered a situation where two candidates shared nearly identical names and party affiliations.

Opening the hearing, Chair Gray told the committee the Division of Elections and Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom had asked for more time to respond to subpoenas issued by House State Affairs. In a letter posted the night before on the legislature's public document system, Dahlstrom called the timeline "unreasonable and unnecessary" and wrote that her office "may have no choice but to seek to quash the subpoena in court" if the hearing was not delayed. State Affairs Chair Ashley Carrick agreed to excuse Dahlstrom and Director Carol Beecher from Monday's hearing on the condition that they produce requested documents by July 20 and appear before the joint committee on July 22. Dahlstrom agreed.