The Trump administration is asking a federal court to delay the certification of Alaska’s U.S. Senate election, where voter confusion involving similarly named candidates could cost Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan his victory.
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit Thursday arguing that Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired teacher running against an incumbent senator, may mislead voters who plan to support the Republican senator. The department is seeking to block certification if the incumbent loses, and he would have won if other Sullivan votes had gone to him under Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system. The requested delay would allow for an investigation into whether these voters intend to support the incumbent.
The lawsuit, filed less than two weeks before Election Day on Nov. 3, marks an unusual effort to interfere with federal election certification before the results are known. “The United States files this lawsuit to protect the integrity of Alaska’s 2026 Senate elections,” the Justice Department wrote in its statement. complain.
Republicans claim the challenger is a disruptive candidate seeking to steal votes from incumbents and help former Congresswoman Mary Peltola, a Democrat. Pertola’s campaign has denied involvement.
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Alaska election officials initially rejected the challenger’s candidacy, arguing it was not done in good faith. A state judge overturned that decision, and the Alaska Supreme Court upheld it, keeping him on the ballot.
The challengers deny participating in a scheme to confuse voters. “I have every right to run for any position that I’m qualified to hold, and I’m qualified to hold this position,” he told the media Associated Press June.
Trump has repeatedly criticized challengers and warned that similar names could sway the outcome. On October 13, at a rally in Alaska, he described The state’s ranked-choice voting system is vulnerable to “damn severe fraud.”
Alaska’s system allows voters to rank candidates based on preference. If no candidate wins a majority of first-preference votes, the worst-performing candidate is eliminated and votes are redistributed based on the remaining candidate ranked second by voters. This process continues until a candidate receives a majority of valid votes.
The incumbent received about 41.4% of the vote in the August primary, while Pertola received 49.5%. Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. received about 2.5 percent of the vote, a share that Republicans fear could prove decisive in a close election.
“We will let the Department of Justice complaint run its course,” Sullivan campaign spokesman Nate Adams said in a statement. Politicoadding that Alaskans can tell the difference between the senator and his challenger.
The lawsuit was filed the same day Attorney General Todd Branch said the department had no intention of improperly interfering with elections or state certifications.
“The Department of Justice had no intention, nor did we have any intention, to improperly interfere with elections or state certification processes,” Branch reportedly told reporters Thursday. washington post.
The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleeson, an appointee of former President Barack Obama.