- Published
The Republican governor of Alaska has ordered an investigation into an alleged "scheme" designed "to manipulate Alaska's elections".
asserted
governor → publish → elections
Governor Mike Dunleavy said he was responding to a New York Times (NYT) report, external.
asserted
he → say → report
The story said the team of Democratic candidate Mary Peltola worked with people who tried to recruit a man to contest the Senate race who shares their name with Peltola's opponent, Dan Sullivan.
asserted
who → say → opponent
Sullivan, the incumbent senator, and fellow Republicans have accused the Democrats of trying to confuse voters.
asserted
Sullivan → accuse → voters
President Donald Trump has called for Peltola to be barred.
asserted
Peltola → call → ?
Peltola's team deny any wrongdoing, or encouraging the second Dan Sullivan to stand in the tight contest.
asserted
team → deny → contest
For his part, the second Dan Sullivan, a retired teacher who lives in a remote fishing village, denies any links with the Peltola campaign.
asserted
who → live → campaign
Although he has given few interviews, he told the NYT, external in August he was running the race in good faith as a moderate Republican, albeit that he had voted for Peltola in previous contests.
asserted
he → give → contests
The ballot paper is set to list the two men as Dan S Sullivan, who will be described as the incumbent Republican senator, and Daniel J Sullivan Jr.
Senator
asserted
who → set → senator
Dan Sullivan told Fox News on Wednesday night that Peltola should "come clean" and described it as a scandal of the highest order.
asserted
Peltola → tell → order
His fellow Republican senator in Alaska, Lisa Murkowksi, accused the Democratic campaign of engaging in a "pattern of lies".
asserted
senator → accuse → lies
The Alaska race is considered by analysts to be one of the tightest of the upcoming US midterm elections, which will decide which party controls Congress.
asserted
party → consider → Congress
Americans head to the polls across the country on Tuesday.
asserted
Americans → head → Tuesday
Previous efforts by the Republicans to remove that Sullivan, the retired teacher, from the ballot have already been rejected by the Alaska Supreme Court.
asserted
efforts → remove → Court
But Dunleavy's statement, which did not name the Peltola campaign, said the NYT reporting had supported findings by the state Division of Elections earlier this year.
asserted
reporting → name → Elections
"I am therefore directing the Department of Public Safety to investigate whether this scheme violated Alaska's laws and whether criminal charges or civil action are warranted," he wrote.
asserted
he → direct → laws
"The evidence will determine what happens next."
asserted
what → determine → ?
The NYT report alleged that people connected to Peltola's campaign, as well as senior aides at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), worked to try to recruit Sullivan the schoolteacher to stand in the Senate race.
asserted
people → allege → race
This was part of a broader effort to encourage other would-be "spoiler" candidates to enter the race and dilute the support of the sitting Republican senator, the newspaper reported.
asserted
newspaper → encourage → senator
The paper said it had seen text messages and interviewed 12 people who who participated in or were told of the plan, or were would-be candidates who the team tried to recruit.
asserted
team → say → who
The BBC has not independently verified the NYT's reporting.
uncertain
BBC → verify → reporting
In a series of Truth Social posts, Trump too pointed to the report and made a variety of allegations against Peltola, who he argued should be removed from the ballot.
asserted
he → point → ballot
He repeated his endorsement for Dan S Sullivan, the incumbent Republican senator, writing: "Dan is a GREAT man, has ALWAYS delivered for Alaska."
asserted
Dan → repeat → Alaska
His administration previously filed a legal case aimed at preventing the certification of the result if the Trump-backed candidate loses, arguing that the presence of both Sullivans on the ballot could confuse voters.
uncertain
presence → file → voters
Alaska's ranked-choice voting system means that voters could select both Sullivans if they are unsure at the ballot box.
uncertain
they → rank → box
The battle threatens to delay the full picture of nationwide results following the midterm elections.
asserted
battle → threaten → elections
The ultimate question of which party controls Congress will have a significant bearing on the remaining two years of Trump's presidency.
asserted
party → control → presidency
A statement from an Alaskans for Mary spokesperson, written prior to Dunleavy's call for an investigation, said: "Mary got in this race because Alaskans deserve a champion who is fighting to lower their costs and put Alaska first, and no tweet or threat from any DC politician will keep her away from that fight.
asserted
tweet → write → fight
"The Alaskans for Mary campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign."
asserted
campaign → have → campaign
In a statement given to US media, the DSCC likewise denied that it had been involved in any such scheme.
asserted
it → give → scheme
Peltola earlier this week paused campaigning activities in order to recover after she and her family sustained "minor injuries" in a car crash.
asserted
she → pause → crash
The Aporia
