Vance Says Busy Voters Can Be Fooled, Defends Bid to Block Alaska Certification

Vance Says Busy Voters Can Be Fooled, Defends Bid to Block Alaska Certification

Asked about insulting voters, Vance says the question presumes too much

Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday rejected a reporter's question about whether the Trump administration was insulting Alaska voters with its lawsuit over the state's Senate race. Speaking on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews before a trip to Michigan for a midterm rally, he was asked why Alaskans should not find it insulting that the administration seemed to suggest they could not read the word incumbent on the ballot. Vance replied that the question presumed quite a bit, adding that many Alaskans would look at the ballot and see a big fraud.

People have jobs and lives, Vance says confusion is electoral fraud

Vance said people are busy, have lives and have jobs, and argued that putting a person on the ballot explicitly to confuse voters meets the definition of electoral fraud. He called the independent candidacy of Dan J. Sullivan Jr. a fraud and said it should not be endorsed. He then turned on the press, saying reporters should do their job and ask difficult questions of the Democratic Party, suggesting coverage would be different if the parties were reversed.

Justice Department seeks to freeze certification only if Republican loses

The lawsuit at the center of the dispute was filed last Thursday by the Department of Justice. President Donald Trump said he personally directed it. It asks a federal judge in Alaska to bar the state from certifying any result affected by voter confusion, pending an investigation into whether votes for Daniel J. Sullivan were meant for Senator Dan Sullivan. In practice it targets only a win by Democrat Mary Peltola. Attorney General Todd Blanche said the department did not intend to improperly interfere with elections or certification, while leaving open a doomsday scenario for involvement.

Ballot separates the two Sullivans with incumbent and party labels

The ballot features two men named Dan Sullivan. Senator Dan S. Sullivan, the Republican incumbent first elected in 2014 and seeking a third six-year term, appears as a registered Republican marked incumbent. Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired teacher from Petersburg, switched his registration to Republican two days before filing in late May, after belonging to the Alaska Independence Party and now appears with no party affiliation. He advanced through Alaska's August top-four primary alongside Peltola. The state uses a top-four primary with ranked choice voting in the general election on November 3.

Judge fast-tracks dismissal bids as even state election officials object

District Judge Sharon Gleason on Monday fast-tracked Peltola's motion to dismiss the federal suit. Alaska's Republican-led elections division separately asked the court to dismiss it. The Alaska Supreme Court ruled in June that both Sullivans could remain on the ballot. Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, called the lawsuit unnecessary, saying Alaskans need no help choosing candidates and the ballot already distinguishes them. Legal analysts called the claim exceptionally thin, with one election law professor describing it as built to win a press release rather than in court.

Tight race could shape Senate control and draws national attention

The Alaska contest between Sullivan and Peltola, a former House member who in 2022 became the first Alaska Native elected to Congress, is viewed as unexpectedly tight and potentially important for control of the Senate. Peltola's campaign accused the incumbent of fearing defeat. Vance earlier this month flew to Fairbanks for a Republican rally for Sullivan, delivering a 33-minute speech warning that the seat could tip the chamber. The Justice Department suit and Vance's busy-voters defense have made the race a national flashpoint a week before voting ends.