President Donald Trump on Sunday said he was worried Alaska voters will be confused when casting their votes Nov. 3 due to some possibly not knowing what the incumbent label means on the ranked choice ballot.
Trump has repeatedly taken issue with Alaska’s ranked choice voting system, particularly as two candidates named Daniel Sullivan will appear on the ballot. The incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan will be listed as such and labeled as a registered Republican, while the challenger will be listed as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.
“People are totally confused,” Trump said. “They shouldn’t be confused when voting. At least let him use the name ‘Sen. Dan Sullivan’ as opposed to incumbent because a lot of people don’t know what incumbent means.”
Trump announced on Friday that the Department of Justice is pursuing a legal challenge to Alaska’s certification of election results at his direction, arguing voter confusion may interfere with the outcome.
The president told reporters on Sunday the challenger Sullivan being on the ballot is “illegal because it’s unfair.”
“You need fairness,” Trump said. “They come up with a guy. … He never partook in any election, was never involved. I think he wasn’t even a voter. He didn’t vote, didn’t do anything. He just happens to have that name, and they put him on, and I think it’s very unfair.”
Still, Trump voiced confidence in the incumbent Sullivan, but noted he faces an “unfair” battle having a challenger bearing the same name on the ballot.
“I think Dan Sullivan is doing great if they don’t make it unfair,” Trump said. “He’s in great shape. … I think, other than the problem we have with respect to the Daniel Sullivan name being put on the ballot, this is Sen. Dan Sullivan. They made it very unclear, and I think it’s very unfair.”
The president also took issue with the ranked choice voting system as a whole.
“Then you have ranked choice voting, which is crooked as can be,” Trump said. “So we shouldn’t have ranked choice voting. But on his own, Dan Sullivan would win easily. But the Democrats have put another guy named Dan Sullivan, in this case Daniel Sullivan, on the ballot, and that’s very unfair. That’s just outright cheating.”
TRUMP RIPS ALASKA’S ‘CORRUPT’ RANKED CHOICE VOTING IN ATTACK ON MURKOWSKI
Daniel J. Sullivan registered as a Republican in the state’s Senate race and was initially removed from the ballot by the state’s Division of Elections. After the Alaska Supreme Court restored his spot on the ballot, his party affiliation was changed to nonpartisan, as recommended by the division.
The leading challenger to the incumbent lies in former Rep. Mary Peltola, by an average of 1.2 percentage points in the state’s ranked choice Senate race, according to the polling average from RealClearPolling, within the average margin of error. The Polymarket odds also favor Peltola.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
