美法官裁定同名挑战者可与现任参议员共同登上阿拉斯加州初选选票Judge Rules Namesake Challenger Can Join Senator Dan Sullivan on Alaska Primary Ballot

阿拉斯加州高等法院法官托马斯·马修斯于周五正式宣布，挑战者丹·J·沙利文为合格候选人。这一判决意味着，这位与现任共和党联邦参议员同名同姓的挑战者，将获准在8月18日的共和党初选中与现任参议员共同登入选票。此裁决直接推翻了阿拉斯加州选举事务处此前做出的行政决定，该决定曾试图阻止两名同名候选人同时出现在初选选票上。

Alaska Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews issued a formal ruling on Friday declaring that challenger Dan J. Sullivan is an eligible candidate for the upcoming primary election. This judicial decision ensures that the challenger, who shares the exact same name and party affiliation as the sitting Republican U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan, can appear alongside the incumbent on the ballot for the August 18 Republican primary.

在裁决书中，马修斯法官明确指出，原告丹·J·沙利文作为一名来自彼得斯堡小渔村的退休教师，依法享有参与此次选举的权利。尽管选举事务处此前以其参选资格存在争议为由将其排除在选票之外，但法官的最新裁决恢复了其参选资格，使得这场罕见的同名竞争得以在共和党初选中继续进行。

The ruling directly reverses the previous administrative action taken by the Alaska Division of Elections to exclude the challenger. In his decision, Judge Matthews specified that the challenger, a retired teacher from the small fishing community of Petersburg, meets the qualifications to run. This court order effectively reinstates his candidacy, allowing the highly unusual primary contest between two candidates with identical names to proceed unless overturned by a higher court.

在周五公布的裁决书中，马修斯法官详细阐述了推翻选举事务处决定的法律依据。他指出，选举事务处处长卡罗尔·比彻此前认定挑战者丹·J·沙利文并非“出于善意”参选，并意图在投票箱前“混淆或误导”选民，这一决定在法律层面上站不住脚。法官明确表示，该部门做出取消参选资格的行政决定时，并没有宪法、阿拉斯加州法律或该部门自身规章制度的支持。

In his written ruling issued on Friday, Judge Matthews detailed the legal reasoning for overturning the Division of Elections' decision. He pointed out that Division Director Carol Beecher's previous determination—which claimed challenger Dan J. Sullivan did not launch his campaign "in good faith" and sought to "confuse or mislead" voters at the ballot box—lacked any valid legal foundation. The judge explicitly stated that the division's administrative action to disqualify the challenger was not supported by the Constitution, Alaska state law, or the division's own existing regulations.

马修斯法官在判决中写道，选举事务处的这一决定实际上是基于一种“全新且此前未申明”的“善意”标准。由于缺乏现成的法律框架来定义或执行此类动机审查，选举事务处在没有明确法律授权的情况下，自行创设并适用了这一门槛，从而不当剥夺了候选人的参选权利。因此，法院判定该行政决定无效，必须予以撤销。

Instead, Judge Matthews wrote that the division's decision was based upon a "new, previously unstated" criteria of "good faith." By applying an unestablished standard to evaluate the candidate's subjective intent without clear legislative or regulatory authority, the division exceeded its administrative boundaries. Consequently, the court ruled that the disqualification must be set aside, restoring the challenger's right to run in the primary.

挑战者丹·J·沙利文是一名来自彼得斯堡小渔村的退休教师，此前还曾担任美国林务局的员工。根据选举事务处处长卡罗尔·比彻的认定记录，这位挑战者在近期才将其党籍变更为共和党。现任联邦参议员丹·沙利文对这位同名竞争对手的参选意图提出了强烈质疑，甚至指控这名退休教师正与他的民主党对手展开合作，企图通过这种方式来混淆选民的视听。

The challenger, Dan J. Sullivan, is a retired schoolteacher from the small fishing community of Petersburg and a former employee of the U.S. Forest Service. According to records cited in the determination by Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher, the challenger only recently changed his political party affiliation to the Republican Party. The sitting U.S. Senator, Dan Sullivan, has openly questioned the motives behind this candidacy, accusing the retired teacher of actively working in coordination with his Democratic opponent to create confusion among the electorate.

与此同时，阿拉斯加州共和党官员也对两名同名候选人同时出现在选票上表达了深切的担忧。共和党官员指出，在即将到来的中期选举初选中，选票上同时出现两个“丹·沙利文”极易引发选民的认知混乱。现任参议员及其支持者此前一直积极寻求将这名同名挑战者从选票中除名，以避免在8月18日的共和党初选中因姓名完全相同而导致不必要的选票分流或误投。

At the same time, Republican Party officials in Alaska have voiced significant concerns regarding the presence of two candidates sharing the exact same name on a single primary ballot. Party officials argued that having two individuals named Dan Sullivan on the August 18 ballot could easily confuse voters during the midterm primary. Consequently, the incumbent senator and Republican officials had actively sought to have the namesake challenger removed from the ballot to prevent potential voter disruption and misdirected votes.

在高等法院做出裁决后，阿拉斯加州选举事务处已正式启动上诉程序。州法律部门发言人萨姆·柯蒂斯于周六通过电子邮件证实，该部门正在对马修斯法官的裁决提出上诉，此案将直接移交至阿拉斯加州最高法院进行审理。挑战者丹·J·沙利文的代理律师杰弗里·罗宾逊也表示，他已预料到选举事务处会提起上诉，并指出在州最高法院对该案做出最终裁决之前，他不会对此发表进一步评论。

Following the Superior Court's ruling, the Alaska Division of Elections has officially initiated the appeals process to take the case to the state Supreme Court. Sam Curtis, a spokesperson for the state Department of Law, confirmed via email on Saturday that the division is appealing Judge Matthews' decision. Jeffrey Robinson, the attorney representing challenger Dan J. Sullivan, stated in an email that he fully expected the division to file an appeal and added that he would withhold further comment until the Alaska Supreme Court issues its ruling on the matter.

由于8月18日的初选日益临近，留给司法机关的审判时间已经非常紧迫。代表州政府的律师强调，下周二将是该案获得最终裁决的最后截止日期。这一时间节点至关重要，因为选举部门必须在此日期前确定最终的候选人名单，以便能够及时印刷并分发用于8月18日初选的选票。如果最高法院未能在此期限前做出裁决，可能会对整个初选的选票准备工作带来实质性的延误。

The timeline for a final judicial resolution is exceptionally tight due to upcoming election preparations. Attorneys representing the state have emphasized that Tuesday is the absolute deadline for a final ruling from the high court. This deadline is critical to ensure that the Division of Elections can finalize the candidate list and print the physical ballots in time for the scheduled August 18 primary election.