By SUZANNE DOWNING
June 21, 2026 – The Alaska House Judiciary Committee has issued an extraordinary subpoena to Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher, ordering her to appear before lawmakers Monday afternoon and produce a sweeping collection of documents related to the state’s investigation of Petersburg Senate candidate Daniel J. Sullivan.
The subpoena, signed by House State Affairs Committee Chair Ashley Carrick and House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, was served Sunday afternoon in person by Rep. Andrew Gray at about 3:40 pm, according to the document.
Beecher was given less than 24 hours’ notice before being ordered to appear at 1 pm Monday at the Anchorage Legislative Information Office.
The move marks a dramatic escalation in the ongoing dispute surrounding Sullivan, whose candidacy for the U.S. Senate was rejected by the Division of Elections after officials concluded he lacked a “good-faith intention to serve” if elected.
The case has attracted statewide attention because Sullivan shares the same name as incumbent U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan and changed his voter registration to Republican shortly before filing for office. Critics have alleged his candidacy was intended to confuse voters and siphon votes from the incumbent, potentially benefiting Democrat Mary Peltola.
The Division of Elections ultimately ruled that Daniel Sullivan was not eligible to appear on the ballot. That decision has been applauded by many Republicans but criticized by several Democratic lawmakers, who have questioned the legal basis for the determination.
The subpoena seeks virtually every document connected to the Division’s investigation.
Among the records demanded are all documents reviewed or relied upon during the investigation, all internal communications discussing Sullivan, all communications with outside parties regarding Sullivan, and all communications between the Division and US Sen. Dan Sullivan or his staff concerning the matter.
The committee also is seeking records extending far beyond the Petersburg candidate’s case.
The subpoena demands copies of communications from the last 10 years in which the Division requested a candidate to provide a sworn response, as well as all complaints during the last decade alleging that a candidate lacked a “good-faith intention to serve.” It further requests investigative files and final determination letters associated with those complaints.
The breadth of the request is notable, particularly given the short deadline imposed on the agency.
In addition, the committee is demanding copies of every final determination letter in which the Division concluded a candidate did not possess a good-faith intention to serve, along with a privilege log describing any documents withheld.
The subpoena cites AS 24.25.010, Alaska’s legislative subpoena authority, and was authorized by members of the House Judiciary Committee.
The timing comes as the legal and political battle over the “Decoy Dan” candidacy continues to brew. The Division’s decision is still subject to appeal, and ballots for the Aug. 18 primary election are scheduled to be finalized soon and printed on June 28.
Whether Beecher appears as ordered, seeks to narrow the subpoena, or challenges it remains is not clear, but the timing on the demand for her to appear is very tight.
What is clear is that House leadership has decided to make the Division’s handling of the Decoy Daniel Sullivan investigation a public issue, setting up what could be a contentious hearing Monday afternoon.
The circumstances surrounding the subpoena are almost as remarkable as the subpoena itself.
The document was signed by House Speaker Bryce Edgmon and House State Affairs Chair Ashley Carrick late Friday afternoon, heading into a holiday weekend. It ordered Beecher to appear before lawmakers Monday afternoon and produce a sweeping collection of records, some of them stretching back a decade.
But wait, there’s more. Then came the service of the subpoena itself.
According to the return attached to the document, Rep. Andrew Gray personally delivered the subpoena to Beecher at her Anchorage residence on Sunday afternoon, less than 24 hours before the scheduled hearing. Rep. Gray says the subpoena was emailed Friday afternoon.
For a committee seeking to project seriousness and urgency, the image is difficult to ignore: A sitting legislator personally serving legal papers on a Sunday because the committee’s timetable left little room for ordinary procedures.
The episode raises questions about how much planning went into the effort. Large document requests of this scope are typically accompanied by timelines that allow agencies to gather records, review potentially privileged material, and prepare witnesses for testimony. Instead, the Division was given a matter of very few waking hours to respond to demands covering not only the Daniel Sullivan investigation but also a decade’s worth of related election records.
The image of the Rep. Gray knocking on Beecher’s door on Sunday afternoon because he couldn’t find a process server may be the weirdest legislative episode of the year.
Whether the committee’s aggressive approach reflects urgency or poor planning is a matter of debate. But the unusual sight of a legislator acting as his own process server has already become one of the more memorable images to emerge from the continuing “Decoy Dan” controversy.
The subpoena looks like an effort to second-guess election officials after they rejected a candidate widely viewed as a ballot-confusion tactic.
Either way, the House Judiciary Committee’s aggressive move ensures that the “Decoy Dan” controversy is far from over.
4 thoughts on “House subpoenas Alaska Elections director in ‘Decoy Dan’ controversy, demands volumes of records”
Apparently, Edgemon and Carrick believe that fooling the public by way of bad faith and deceipt is fair game for Democrats. Why don’t they also subpoena the Democrat Party chair and Mary Peltola herself and ask them why Petersburg Dan Sullivan needs to be on the ballot? Let’s get all the voices heard by the Legislature.
To be honest.
Bullies should NEVER be promoted.
They’ll use their elevated position to test how much authority they can wield over others using every little offense as opportunity to test how far they can go.
These are the days where Eccl 10:7 is repeated in todays generations “ I have even seen servants riding horseback like princes—and princes walking like servants!“
For those of you who are little slow. The meaning means “… that it contrasts wisdom and folly. It highlights a common human injustice where foolish or unqualified individuals are elevated, while the wise or rightful leaders are sidelined (or never promoted and we are led by the stupid or the bully)
Even though two wrongs don’t make a right.
AKGOP need to start learning how to play the game playing by what rules AKDemocrats have set
For example. One example of playing the Democrat game by their rules is if Sen Dunbar ran for governor find Three Forrest Dunbars (which is a very common name like Dan Sullivan) and get them registered as Democrat to run for Governor
If Democrats are going to play dirty. Then play dirty.
Is having a legislator deliver the subpoena a legal service? Hope Nancy ignores the whole thing.