Anyone who has coached youth sports knows the roster problem. Two boys named Jake sign up in September, and by the second practice you're hollering "Jake S." and "Jake M." across the field. Alaska voters face the adult version on November 3 with one twist. The second Dan Sullivan on their Senate ballot may have been recruited to be there, and the evidence is pointing in that direction. My view is simple: The allegations are serious and well sourced, but the remedy belongs to state election officials, investigators and voters, and a federal lawsuit filed before there is a result is the wrong tool.

Start with what is reported. On October 28, the New York Times reported that Peltola campaign aides, campaign lawyers and senior Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee staff took part in a secret effort to recruit spoiler candidates, including Dan J. Sullivan of Petersburg. The paper relied on interviews, text messages and documents. The Peltola campaign and the DSCC deny involvement, and Peltola called the story a distraction.

Two cautions first. The Times did not establish that Peltola personally directed anything, and her former campaign manager, Elisa Rios, later retracted her statements. Nobody has been charged yet. As a designated expert witness in fiduciary disputes, I've watched allegations harden into headlines long before they harden into evidence.

Still, nobody should wave this off as partisan noise. The Times is hardly a Republican cheerleader and the suspicion predates its reporting. Alaska opened its own investigation in June, though the Alaska Supreme Court later put him back on the ballot. By his own account, Dan J. Sullivan........

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