The Justice Department Would Like To Autocorrect Your Sullivan

Autocorrect has finally found a job in Washington. It would like to review your Sullivan.

Reuters reports that the Justice Department is seeking intervention if Alaska Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan loses narrowly and votes for challenger Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. could have changed the outcome. The department wants an investigation into whether voters intended to choose the incumbent. Trump said he ordered the lawsuit. The challenger denies trying to confuse voters.

What a considerate service. Usually, when you select a candidate, the government assumes you selected that candidate. Under this approach, a sufficiently inconvenient result could open a discussion about your underlying intentions.

Did you mean Sullivan? Yes. But did you mean the Sullivan we meant when we asked whether you meant Sullivan?

There are useful clues on the ballot. As CBS reports, the incumbent is identified as a registered Republican and incumbent. The other Sullivan has a different middle initial and is listed without a party affiliation. Alaska’s Supreme Court has already allowed his candidacy.

Still, the federal government has become concerned that voters may not achieve the result those clues were apparently supposed to produce. Somewhere, a perfectly serviceable middle initial is discovering the limits of its constitutional authority.

Attorney General Todd Blanche said Saturday that DOJ is not seeking to stop voting or certification, describing the case as preserving ballots for Alaska officials to assess possible confusion. The complaint’s requested investigation is conditional, and no court has already reassigned these votes or ordered the election result thrown out.

So, for now, this is proposed electoral tech support. Your selection has been received. A representative may contact you if it causes a Republican to lose.

An ordinary help desk asks whether you have tried turning it off and on again. This one may need to know whether you have tried voting for the other Sullivan.

If the incumbent wins, congratulations: your intentions were remarkably easy to understand.