Photo via NBC News

Justice Department requests separating Alaska ballots that rank Dan J. Sullivan in Senate race

Read the original at NBC News ↗
Cite

Guilfoil, K. (2026, October 30). Justice Department requests separating Alaska ballots that rank Dan J. Sullivan in Senate race. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/doj-requests-separating-alaska-ballots-rank-dan-j-sullivan-senate-race-rcna606646

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

NBC News · collected 2026-10-30 · by Kyla Guilfoil

Quick Summary

The Justice Department under the Trump administration is seeking an order from a federal judge to separate ballots that rank Senate candidate Dan J. Sullivan in Alaska's election before Monday. This request comes as part of their investigation into whether voters were confused when ranking candidates due to recent media reports about Peltola’s campaign potentially recruiting Sullivan, which has been denied by Peltola. The filing does not provide a specific process for ballot review and highlights the urgency of the measure ahead of Election Day.
Written by AI on 2026-10-31, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

As of October 28, 2026, the New York Times reported that Mary Peltola's Democratic campaign in Alaska's U.S. Senate race worked with others to recruit another candidate named Dan Sullivan onto the ballot, aiming to confuse voters and potentially impact which party controls the chamber. This effort came amid a closely watched race where Democrat Mary Peltola is running against Republican incumbent Dan S. Sullivan. The revelation led President Trump to demand Alaska change its ballot, while the Justice Department accelerated criminal probes into these allegations. Democrats have been largely silent on denouncing this alleged tactic despite past warnings about threats to democracy.

Written for “Dan Sullivan Scheme Investigation Increases” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 109 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Dan Sullivan Scheme Investigation Increases
Politics · 110 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans right and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Report on alleged ‘second Dan Sullivan’ effort emerges after nearly 1 in 10 Alaskans voted Different event
Fox News
Hedges 5 of 22 claims Outlet record 69/100
“Article A discusses a report on an alleged effort to create confusion with Dan Sullivan's name, while Article B reports on the Justice Department requesting ballots be segregated as part of an investigation. These are different but related events.”
Trump administration renews bid to block Alaska election results Same event
Al Jazeera
Hedges 2 of 25 claims Outlet record 60/100
First Thing: Alaska Senate race descends into legal acrimony over second Dan Sullivan Same event
The Guardian
Hedges 6 of 45 claims Outlet record 66/100
Justice Department seeks new subpoenas in Alaska Senate race probe on Dan Sullivan confusion Same event
CBS News
Hedges 0 of 2 claims Outlet record 66/100
DOJ insists it just wants Alaska ballots preserved and isn’t seeking to change votes Same event
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 70/100
DOJ dramatically accelerates Alaska ballot criminal investigation after new Democrat Mary Peltola campaign allegations Different event
Daily Mail
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 0 of 22 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles describe different actions related to the same general investigation but refer to distinct events: one about accelerating an investigation after new allegations and another about requesting a court order to segregate ballots.”
Trump administration accelerates criminal probe into Alaska Senate race Different event
The Straits Times
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 5 of 28 claims Outlet record 66/100
“While both articles discuss investigations related to the Alaska Senate race, they describe different aspects: Article A focuses on the request to segregate ballots, while Article B discusses the overall acceleration of criminal and civil probes.”
Judge appears skeptical of DOJ's legal maneuvering in Alaska lawsuit Different event
ABC News (US)
⚖️ Leans left further left than this Hedges 0 of 10 claims Outlet record 70/100
“Article A discusses a judge's skepticism towards the DOJ's legal strategy, while Article B reports on the DOJ requesting to segregate ballots ranking Sullivan. These are two different actions and stages of the same broader issue.”
Trump says Peltola and other Dan Sullivan should be thrown off the ballot after NYT report Different event
Washington Examiner
Hedges 0 of 4 claims Outlet record 70/100
“While both articles discuss a legal action related to Dan Sullivan's Senate candidacy in Alaska, Article A reports Trump's demand for ballot changes after a NYT report, while Article B covers the Justice Department requesting a federal judge to segregate ballots as part of an investigation. These describe different specific actions and timelines.”
Trump demands Alaska ballot change after report on Dems recruiting Dan Sullivan to campaign Different event
The Independent
Hedges 4 of 34 claims Outlet record 59/100
“Article A discusses Trump's demand for Alaska to change its ballot due to Democrats recruiting a man named Dan Sullivan, while Article B reports on the Justice Department requesting federal intervention to segregate ballots ranking Dan J. Sullivan in Senate race as part of an ongoing investigation.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
6
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 6 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
60/100
NBC News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
110
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-31 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

NBC News · 1944 article(s) · 1 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 1 correction(s)
2026-10-29
Manhunt grows for escaped murderer who may have left area where truck was ditched

Who wrote this

Kyla Guilfoil
19 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward wrote in a court filing that state officials should “preserve and segregate all ballots ranking Daniel J. Sullivan for the purposes of investigating whether such ranking was the product of voter confusion, should such an investigation become necessary.” “These modest precautionary measures will be impossible after Election Day, so there is good cause for expedited consideration,” he added.
2026-10-30 · assertive framing · Justice Department requests separating Alaska ballots that rank Dan J. Sullivan in Senate race
🔮 The U.S. official told NBC News that receiving a subpoena doesn’t mean a person is necessarily a target, just that the person may have information relevant to the investigation.
2026-10-30 · assertive framing · DOJ subpoenas local election officials over claims of noncitizen voting in California
🔮 In the race to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Kreiss-Tomkins is competing with former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson, former state Attorney General Treg Taylor and Wilson, whom Trump endorsed this month.
2026-10-28 · assertive framing · GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski endorses Democratic candidate in Alaska governor’s race
🔮 Vanessa Trump on May 20 first shared that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer, though she said in Friday’s video that she had been diagnosed in April.
2026-10-24 · mixed framing · Vanessa Trump says she is ‘cancer-free’ six months after diagnosis
🔮 They then asked her to sign a paper that would waive certain rights she has as a member of Congress, Omar said, adding that she declined to sign it.
2026-10-22 · assertive framing · Rep. Ilhan Omar details federal search of her D.C. home, says she’ll have to move for safety reasons
🔮 “I’m proud of our Constitution that guarantees all of us the right to pray as we choose to pray, and the question that you would ask that, I think, is actually really quite shameful.”
2026-10-22 · assertive framing · Abdul El-Sayed and Mike Rogers’ final debate clash sets up final sprint in Michigan
🔮 One of the sources said preliminary field testing continued through the night on the unknown substance and that so far, all the powder tested has been determined to not be hazardous. Further testing will take place at law enforcement laboratories, the source added.
2026-10-16 · assertive framing · Federal probe of letters containing suspicious substances widens as GOP senators report receiving mailings
🔮 A federal magistrate judge ruled a month later that the administration could not examine the data that FBI agents had seized there.
2026-10-15 · assertive framing · Trump says government officials who leak to the media ‘should be shot’
🔮 If you need, the Federal Government will come to your rescue.”
2026-10-09 · assertive framing · Trump urges Minnesotans to ‘fight back’ against Somali immigrants
🔮 After having faced fierce backlash, President Donald Trump on Wednesday sought to clean up incendiary comments he made earlier this week, when he said Iran could “take out” Los Angeles or San Diego.
2026-10-08 · assertive framing · Trump says ‘we protect our cities’ after saying Iran could ‘take out’ Los Angeles or San Diego
Also by Kyla Guilfoil
DOJ subpoenas local election officials over claims of noncitizen voting in California
2026-10-30 · NBC News
GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski endorses Democratic candidate in Alaska governor’s race
2026-10-28 · NBC News
Vanessa Trump says she is ‘cancer-free’ six months after diagnosis
2026-10-24 · NBC News
Rep. Ilhan Omar details federal search of her D.C. home, says she’ll have to move for safety reasons
2026-10-22 · NBC News
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 19 articles by Kyla Guilfoil →

Topics

Alaska Democrat Republican Senate The New York Times

Subjects

Alaska GPE · 3× Dan J. Sullivan PERSON · 2× Senate ORG · 2× Trump PERSON · 2× Daniel J. Sullivan PERSON · 1× Democrat NORP · 1× Mary Peltola PERSON · 1× Republican NORP · 1× Stanley Woodward PERSON · 1× The New York Times ORG · 1×

Narrative

Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward wrote in a court filing that state officials should “preserve and segregate all ballots ranking Daniel J. Sullivan for the purposes of investigating whether such ranking was the product of voter confusion, should such an investigation become necessary.” “These modest precautionary measures will be impossible after Election Day, so there is good cause for expedited consideration,” he added.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-31
🔮 Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward wrote in a court filing that state officials should “preserve and segregate all ballots ranking Daniel J. Sullivan for the purposes of investigating whether such ranking was the product of voter confusion, should such an investigation become necessary.” “These modest precautionary measures will be impossible after Election Day, so there is good cause for expedited consideration,” he added.
2026-10-31 · NBC News
Justice Department requests separating Alaska ballots that rank Dan J. Sullivan in Senate race · assertive framing

Claims (6 extracted, 0 hedged)

The Trump administration asked a federal judge Friday to issue an order before Monday directing Alaska election officials to segregate all ballots ranking Senate candidate Dan J. Sullivan as it continues its investigation into his candidacy. asserted
it → ask → candidacy
Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward wrote in a court filing that state officials should “preserve and segregate all ballots ranking Daniel J. Sullivan for the purposes of investigating whether such ranking was the product of voter confusion, should such an investigation become necessary.” “These modest precautionary measures will be impossible after Election Day, so there is good cause for expedited consideration,” he added. asserted
he → write → consideration
The filing did not spell out a process for ballot review or explain how reviewing a ballot would show if a voter was confused about ranking the candidates. asserted
voter → spell → candidates
Alaska uses ranked choice voting, and there are four candidates in the Senate race. asserted
Alaska → use → race
The Trump administration has ramped up its efforts to involve itself in the Alaska election, which by statute is handled by state officials, after The New York Times reported this week that Democrat Mary Peltola’s campaign was involved in recruiting Dan J. Sullivan, a former school teacher, to run against Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan. asserted
campaign → ramp → Sullivan
Peltola has denied any involvement in Sullivan’s campaign. asserted
Peltola → deny → campaign
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support
Terms · Privacy · beta v2.0.0
Articles to 31 Oct 2026