JD Vance Calls Ballot Candidates Meant to Confuse Voters 'Electoral Fraud'

Vice President JD Vance said a candidate put on the ballot "explicitly to try to confuse voters" is "the definition of electoral fraud." He was answering a reporter's question about the second Dan Sullivan in Alaska's Senate race. The state's highest court ordered that candidate onto the ballot in June.

Election Day is one week away. Republican Senator Dan Sullivan faces Democrat Mary Peltola, a former congresswoman, in a race that could help decide control of the Senate. Peltola leads by 3.4 points in PolitiKool's polling average, 47.6 percent to 44.2 percent.

What JD Vance Said About the Alaska Ballot

The reporter asked why Alaskans should not find it insulting that the administration appears to be suggesting they cannot read the word "incumbent" on their ballots and know to vote for Senator Sullivan.

Vance did not directly respond to the suggestion that this was insulting. He did not name the challenger either.

"Well, I think the question presumes quite a bit," Vance said. "I mean, look, a lot of Alaskans are going to go and look at the ballot and realize exactly what you said, that this is all a big fraud. But people are busy. People have lives. People have jobs."

"When you put a person on the ballot explicitly to try to confuse voters, I think that's the definition of electoral fraud and I don't think that we should endorse it." — JD Vance

The fraud charge is Vance's own description. Alaska's superior court and Supreme Court both ordered the challenger onto the ballot, rejecting the Division of Elections' decision to exclude him.

How the Second Dan Sullivan Got on the Ballot

The challenger is Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired teacher from Petersburg. He moved to Southeast Alaska in 1980 and worked for the U.S. Forest Service before spending more than two decades teaching elementary school, Alaska Public Media reported. The record as compiled by Ballotpedia runs as follows:

• May 29: Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. files for the Senate.
• June 15: Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher issues a final decision keeping him off the ballot.
• June 26: Superior Court Judge Thomas A. Matthews rules that he must be included.
• June 29: The Alaska Supreme Court orders the division to put him on the ballot.

During oral arguments on the morning of June 29, Chief Justice Susan Carney said the division had chosen "the most extreme remedy possible" when less drastic options were available, KTOO reported. The court issued its order that afternoon.

The Ballot Labels at the Center of the Question

The reporter's question was about how the ballot is designed. The state's sample primary ballot lists the senator as "Sullivan, Dan S." with "(Registered Republican) Incumbent." It lists the challenger as "Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr." with no party label, even though he is a registered Republican and asked to appear as one, the Anchorage Daily News reported.

He won 2.5 percent of the vote in the August primary, ABC News 4 reported. As ABC News 4 described it, the Justice Department's lawsuit rests on how ranked-choice votes transfer.

Evidence on Intent

The NRSC alleged that Democrats encouraged the challenger to run to help Peltola.

He says he has the right to run and that sharing the senator's name is irrelevant. He says he is running because he thinks the senator has failed the state. He told Alaska Public Media that after 12 years of Sen. Sullivan in office, he does not see his community thriving. He also denied any contact with Peltola.

Donald Trump has also weighed in. On Truth Social, he wrote, "Even 1, 2, or 3% could make the difference," according to ABC News 4.

What Happens Next

Last week, the Justice Department sued. According to ABC News 4, it asked a federal judge to block certification under two conditions: Sen. Sullivan loses, and an investigation finds that enough votes for the challenger were meant for the senator to change the result. The suit does not ask to take the challenger off the ballot.

Alaska's courts have already approved the ballot. Whether a federal court will step in may only be tested after the votes are counted.