Voter Ignorance and the Problem of Confusion Caused by Candidates With Similar Names |
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Political Ignorance
Voter Ignorance and the Problem of Confusion Caused by Candidates With Similar Names
Voter confusion caused by candidates with similar names - as in the current Alaska Senate race - is part of the much larger problem of political ignorance.
Ilya Somin | 8.18.2026 6:45 PM
Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska). (US Senate)
As Cornell law Professor Michael Dorf explains in an interesting recent blog post, the currently ongoing Senate election in Alaska includes two candidates with almost identical names, one of whom may well be in the race to siphon off votes from the other:
In today's Senate primary election, Alaska voters will have many choices, including two named Dan Sullivan. One is the incumbent Republican. The other is a retired schoolteacher from Petersburg, Alaska with the same name. Republicans claim that the man I'll call Teacher Dan is running for the sole (or at least main) purpose of siphoning votes off from the incumbent and thus potentially handing victory to the Democratic challenger in a tight race. That's a plausible allegation given the jungle primary format. The top four finishers in today's primary advance to the general election. If two of those candidates are named Dan Sullivan, that could be enough to tip the outcome in favor of Democratic challenger and current House member Mary Peltola.
Is Teacher Dan in it only (or mostly) to siphon votes from Incumbent Dan? A NY Times story today reaches an uncertain verdict. Teacher Dan vociferously denies that he's running as a spoiler/siphoner, professing a........