Election official, Steve Kirch, was caught on camera laying his hands on a KTUU camera while reporters followed him and election director Carol Beecher, questioning why Petersburg’s Dan J. Sullivan’s party affiliation was not on the ballot.
During the interaction, the photojournalist told Kirch to not cover his camera lens. The journalist was met with a “get the camera out of the way.” When asked about why he covered the camera lens, he remained silent and left the scene of the Anchorage Legislative Information Office.
In case you’ve been out of the loop, there are two Sullivans, the long-standing Senator, Dan S. Sullivan, and Dan J. Sullivan of Petersburg. After entering the ballot in May, Petersburg Sullivan was removed from the ballot in mid-June over accusations that he was running solely to confuse voters.
Things were smoothed over, with both the Superior Court and the State Supreme Court siding with Petersburg Sullivan. The Division was given the ability to show him “within the confines of existing Alaska ballot design law.”
When they were printed, though, Dan. J. Sullivan was labeled as “Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr.” and he lacked a party affiliation, making him the only one lacking an affiliation.