Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy has cast doubt about whether a Mary Peltola victory over Republican Senator Dan Sullivan would proceed normally to Washington, but an Alaska election-law expert said that the governor does not control the state's certification of election results. University of Washington law professor Jeff Feldman told Newsweek that the director of Alaska's Division of Elections is responsible for certifying election results under state law. "The Governor plays no role in the state certification process," Feldman said Friday.
The governor does, however, have a separate role under federal law in signing the certificate for a senator-elect, which Feldman described as typically "a ministerial act." He said he was unaware of an instance in which an Alaska governor declined to sign the certificate and honor the state's certified result. The distinction has suddenly taken on national significance. Dunleavy, a Republican, has declined to unequivocally say what Alaska would do if Peltola, a Democrat, wins while state and federal investigations into allegations surrounding another candidate named Daniel J.
Sullivan Jr. remain active. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has gone further, suing Alaska in an effort to block certification of certain results if the incumbent Sullivan loses, arguing that voters could have been confused by the two similar names on the ballot. President Donald Trump has said he directed the department to bring the case.
The dispute could become particularly consequential because Alaska's Senate race is among those that could determine control of the upper chamber of Congress. Alaska is also expected to be among the last states to begin reporting results because of its time zone, while ranked-choice voting and the state's timetable for receiving absentee ballots mean a winner may not immediately be clear. The state's election calendar targets November 18 for ranked-choice tabulation and November 25 for certification, more than three weeks after Election Day, November 3.
Newsweek has contacted Dunleavy's office, the Alaska Division of Elections, the Alaska Department of Law, and the Peltola and Sullivan campaigns for comment. The race between Peltola and Sullivan remains extremely close heading into Election Day. A Data for Progress survey conducted October 8-16 found Peltola ahead of Sullivan by 3 points, while an InsiderAdvantage survey conducted October 9-10 had Peltola ahead by 2 points in a head-to-head matchup.
Alaska uses ranked-choice voting for federal general elections. If no candidate receives the required majority in the first round, the lowest-finishing candidate is eliminated, and ballots transfer according to voters' subsequent preferences. The process continues until a candidate surpasses the 50 percent threshold.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
