USAupdated 57m ago2 min read
Archive photoJudge Sharon Gleason Dismisses DOJ Lawsuit To Block Alaska Senate Results
5 West Asian4 Western Mainstream3 Local Western1 OtherPhoto: U.S. General Services Administration / US federal government, Public domain · Cropped for layout
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Judge Sharon Gleason dismissed the DOJ lawsuit seeking to block Alaska Senate certification. DOJ argued voting confusion due to two Dan Sullivans; court found lack of standing.
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DOJ suit dismissed
U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason dismissed a Department of Justice lawsuit seeking to delay or block Alaska’s U.S. Senate election results if Republican incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan loses.
“‘I’m going to accept the election results,’ Sullivan, an ally of US President Donald Trump, told CNN on Sunday.”
Gleason said the federal government’s request was “infeasible” because “many voters have already cast their ballots and the ballots have now been commingled to the point where the identity of each voter cannot be determined.”
The Justice Department said it planned to appeal Gleason’s ruling, and the judge’s decision came just two days before the November 3 midterm election.
Senator Dan S. Sullivan vowed to accept the election outcome, telling CNN on Sunday, “I’m going to accept the election results.”
Two Sullivans dispute
The DOJ lawsuit argued that having two candidates named Dan Sullivan on the ballot could cause “voter confusion” and take support from incumbent Republican Dan S Sullivan.
Gleason rejected the federal plan to segregate and investigate ballots, writing, “The United States provides no workable plan as to how it proposes to segregate ballots cast for Daniel J. Sullivan on Election Day.”
Alaska’s Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher and the state, represented by the Alaska Department of Law, argued that ballots do not have voters’ names and are comingled to protect voter privacy.
President Donald Trump claimed he ordered the lawsuit, and Trump told reporters, “All of a sudden he decides to run for the Senate, and his name is Dan Sullivan. One is Daniel S., one is Daniel J. The Daniel J. is the fake.”
Campaign fallout and stakes
Senator Dan S. Sullivan accused his Democratic opponent Mary Peltola of cheating, saying, “My opponent and [Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer and his aides are showing complete disrespect for Alaskans, complete disdain in recognising that they couldn’t run on their record, so they had to cheat.”
Mary Peltola insisted she had nothing to do with recruiting the other Sullivan and told KTUU, “I have no idea,” when asked whether someone on her campaign could have been involved.
The Justice Department’s appeal kept federal pressure alive in a race described as one of seven key toss-ups that will likely decide whether Republicans keep their majority in the US Congress’s upper chamber.
Alaska’s Senate race also remained tied to a broader criminal investigation, with U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman saying there was an “ongoing” criminal probe by the Justice Department and that there was a “surge in FBI resources” to protect election integrity.