NEW DELHI: President Donald Trump’s administration stepped up criminal and civil investigations into allegations that Democrats conspired to recruit a spoiler candidate in a critical Senate race in Alaska, offi cials said on October 30, injecting fresh uncertainty into the midterm elections.
The top federal prosecutor in Alaska, US Attorney Michael Heyman, said at a press conference that a New York Times article about the eff ort had driven a “surge” of FBI resources, adding that he had assigned several prosecutors to the case and that investigative steps were taking place “intensely and swiftly.” The Alaska contest is widely seen as one of the US Senate races that could sway control of the chamber, now narrowly held by Trump’s Republicans.
The Justice Department’s legal actions in Alaska and California, where the Trump administration is trying to prevent some ballots from being counted, represent an extraordinary federal intervention in state-run elections, which are administered locally under the US Constitution. “This is voter fraud at the highest level,” Trump told a Florida rally on October 30.
The top federal prosecutor in Alaska, US Attorney Michael Heyman, said at a press conference that a New York Times article about the effort had driven a “surge” of FBI resources, adding that he had assigned several prosecutors to the case and that investigative steps were taking place “intensely and swiftly.”
The Department of Justice has asked a federal judge to ensure the preservation of ballots that “may be impacted by voter confusion.” The court fi ling requested the judge’s help obtaining documents from the Democratic campaign and others to determine “whether Daniel J. Sullivan’s candidacy is frivolous or fraudulent.”
The DOJ also has sued Alaska to preemptively block the state from certifying the results of the Senate race if the Republican incumbent, Dan S. Sullivan, loses due to the presence of a third candidate, named Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.
Ballot stacking
It is not clear what, if any, laws may have been broken. Both parties have engaged in “ballot stacking” by propping up lesser-known candidates to siphon votes from their opponents.
The New York Times reported this week that staffers from the Peltola campaign and the Democratic Party’s Senate campaign arm helped recruit Daniel J. Sullivan Jr, a retired teacher living in a remote fishing village, to appear on the ballot.
