One of the things I value most about living in Alaska is that we've always taken self-governance seriously. Our elections are supposed to be open, fair, and decided by voters — not by bureaucrats making judgment calls about who's running in "good faith." What happened to Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher from Petersburg, troubles me deeply. Alaska's Division of Elections removed him from the August U.S. Senate primary ballot, not because he failed to meet any legal qualification, but because he shares a name with the incumbent senator — and the incumbent complained. That's not a reason to strip someone off a ballot. That's using a regulation meant to prevent voter confusion as a weapon to protect a powerful person from competition.
Voters are perfectly capable of reading a ballot that shows two candidates with similar names. We do it in phone books, in schools, and at work all the time. If the Division of Elections is concerned about clarity, the solution is a disclosure or a distinguishing line — not removal. What this decision actually does is tell everyday Alaskans that if you don't have the right connections, your name doesn't belong on our ballot. That should alarm every one of us, no matter our party.
I'm asking you to publicly call on the Division of Elections to reverse this removal and restore Dan J. Sullivan of Petersburg to the primary ballot, and to push for clear written standards that protect future candidates from being disqualified based on officeholder complaints.
Every qualified Alaskan deserves a fair shot at being on the ballot, and I'm counting on you to make sure our elections stay open to regular people — not just incumbents and their allies.
