Federal judge rejects Trump DOJ bid to block Alaska Senate certification
The decision allows the November 3 vote to proceed despite a dispute over a retired professor sharing the incumbent senator's name.
By Lauren Bello ·
Federal District Judge Sharon Gleason dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice on Sunday. The suit sought to block the certification of the Alaska Senate race if incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan lost. This legal move was the final development in a dispute that has marked the closing days of one of the most watched contests in the country.
The core of the federal complaint concerned a retired professor, Dan J. Sullivan, who appears on the ballot with a name nearly identical to the sitting senator. The Justice Department requested a court-ordered investigation to determine if voters intended their ballots for the professor rather than the incumbent. The state of Alaska argued the case lacked merit because separating the ballots without violating voter secrecy was impossible.
Gleason found the requested relief unworkable because early voting had already begun. She wrote that the United States did not propose a viable plan to separate ballots cast for Daniel J. Sullivan and then conduct an unspecified investigation while preserving the secret of the vote. The judge also cited the Constitution, which grants states authority to organize elections, and the Purcell principle, which discourages federal courts from changing election rules close to the vote date.
The Justice Department filed a notice of appeal shortly after the ruling. A spokesperson stated that Alaskan voters deserved fair elections rather than manipulation of results. The department maintained that while the case was dismissed on procedural grounds, the judge did not refute the argument that Dan J. Sullivan ran as a frivolous candidate to confuse voters.
The dispute intensified on Sunday morning when Senator Sullivan told CNN he was certain he would lose many votes due to the presence of the other candidate. He questioned former congresswoman Mary Peltola’s claim that her top political advisers had no involvement in recruiting the professor. Sullivan stated on the State of the Union program that it was impossible for the situation to have lasted a year without Peltola knowing.
President Donald Trump posted on social media on Sunday that the false Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. had disappeared and that no one could find him. The president also ordered a criminal investigation into the matter. The Justice Department issued numerous grand jury subpoenas on Thursday, and the FBI began contacting donors to ask if they were misled about which candidate they supported.
Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee called the dismissal a victory for democracy. Devan Barber, the committee’s chief executive, said no one could annul a free and fair election simply because they disliked the result. The Peltola campaign added that no sham investigation would stop Alaskans from choosing their candidate on November 3 to reduce costs for working families.
Dan J. Sullivan received roughly 2.5% of the vote in the August primary, which was enough to secure a spot on the ranked-choice ballot. State officials said they took significant steps to differentiate the two candidates on the ballot. Voters can consult candidate biographies in election booklets or request assistance if they have doubts. The state’s attorneys, who were appointed by former President Barack Obama, called the federal complaint baseless.
