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Trump Justice Department Sues Alaska To Block Senate Certification Over Daniel J. Sullivan Name Confusion
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DOJ filed a federal suit to block Alaska Senate certification if Dan Sullivan loses. Presence of two Dan Sullivans on the ballot could mislead voters.
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DOJ targets Alaska certification
The Trump administration filed a lawsuit to block Alaska from certifying the Senate race results if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses, citing name confusion involving another candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan.
The Justice Department argued that including Daniel J. Sullivan on the ballot could lead voters to cast their vote for the wrong candidate, and the lawsuit asked a judge to bar the state from certifying results if Sen. Sullivan loses by a margin less than the other Sullivan.
The lawsuit also sought to delay certification pending an investigation into whether voters were mixed up on the names and what would have happened had the second Sullivan been kept off the ballot.
The BBC said the justice department told the court that Alaska "will fail in its obligation to protect the integrity of its elections" if it includes "any electoral results tainted by the inclusion on the ballot of Daniel J Sullivan".
The Chicago Tribune said the complaint alleged the United States brings the suit "to protect the integrity of the United States Senate elections in 2026 in Alaska."
Competing claims and quotes
Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters in Virginia that "It is not the DOJ's intent, and never has been, to improperly interfere in elections or in the state certification process."
Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, said the suit "will likely come into play only if Republicans lose the Alaska Senate race by a narrow margin" and that it "does not appear to have legal footing."
The BBC reported that President Donald Trump referred to the second Sullivan's candidacy as a "scam" and said his administration was looking at "powerful legal options" to prevent him from running.
The BBC also quoted Associate Attorney General Stanley E Woodward Jr asserting that the sole purpose of Daniel J. Sullivan's candidacy was to benefit Peltola's campaign by reducing the number of votes for Senator Sullivan.
The Chicago Tribune reported that the Alaska Supreme Court rejected previous attempts by Republicans to remove the other Sullivan from the ballot, and state Republican officials decided how to include him on it.
What is at stake
The lawsuit framed the dispute around Alaska's ranked-choice voting system, where voters rank candidates and the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated in rounds.
The BBC said the government wanted the judge to bar certification if Sen. Sullivan loses by a margin less than the other Sullivan, and it described a scenario where certification could be delayed pending investigation into voter intent.
The CNBC report said the suit asked a judge to bar Alaska from certifying "any result that may be impacted by voter confusion" pending an investigation into whether votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan were meant for Senator Sullivan.
The Democracy Docket reported that the DOJ lawsuit was assigned to U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason, appointed by President Barack Obama, and it said the suit would call for Alaska's Division of Elections to set aside results if anyone other than incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan wins.
The AP News report said the lawsuit represented the latest attempt by the Trump Justice Department to insert itself in the administration of elections, running up against the minimal role the Constitution gives the Executive Branch.