Justice Department Sues to Shape Alaska Senate Count

The Justice Department is asking a federal court to block certification of Alaska’s Senate election results if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses by a narrow margin. The request puts federal power over a state-run election into play before voters cast ballots on Nov. 3. Attorney General Todd Blanche says the lawsuit aims to prevent confusion. Under the requested order, certification would hang on a possible later finding that voters were confused.

A lawsuit before the vote

Mary Peltola called the suit “just flagrant, flagrant corruption in my opinion” and a Republican diversion tactic the day after it was filed Thursday. Alaska’s other Republican senator, Lisa Murkowski, criticized the lawsuit on social media, too. Their objections come as the federal government seeks a role in what happens if the result falls within a narrow margin.

Two candidates with nearly identical names sit at the center of the dispute. The senator appears on the ballot as “Dan S. Sullivan,” identified as a “registered Republican” and “incumbent.” The other candidate, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., is a retired teacher and school administrator from Petersburg, a small fishing community; his ballot listing has no party affiliation.

Republicans say the second candidate could siphon votes from the senator and help Peltola. The Justice Department’s lawsuit argues that the similar names could skew the result toward Democrats. That’s the administration’s stated concern. The court is being asked to act before voters decide the race.

President Donald Trump said Friday he was “the one that said do it.” On Sunday, he said he believed the ballot was illegal because it was unfair, and argued that the senator should be identified as the sitting senator. “At least let him use the name Sen. Dan Sullivan as opposed to incumbent, because a lot of people don't know what incumbent means,” Trump said.

The administration’s defense

Blanche told CNN’s “State of the Union” that Trump wasn’t trying to overturn state election results “in any way, shape or form” before the election. “We wish that we didn't have to do this. We hope for a resolution that works,” Blanche said.

He told CNN host Dana Bash that it was “crazy” to ask whether Trump was laying groundwork for the kind of election challenges that preceded the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters. “We are not doing anything improper. We're not doing anything we're not allowed to do. And we have to let the process play out,” Blanche said. He added that the president wasn’t trying to take over a state election.

On CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Blanche said the lawsuit was meant to “put guardrails in place” to preserve possible evidence of voter confusion. He said the suit wasn’t asking the state not to certify, but argued that if a court ultimately found confusion rather than voters’ will decided the election, “we do not think the states should certify.” He said that position was consistent with federal law and Alaskan law.

Who controls the process?

A New York Times analysis described the lawsuit as part of a pre-emptive effort to shape election results. It said Trump had spent months attacking U.S. election integrity and using the federal government to claim more control over voting administered by states. The analysis called the lawsuit a challenge to certification before Election Day that could potentially nullify an opponent’s win.

Election and legal experts cited in the analysis said the tactic intensified Trump’s use of official powers, could undermine the democratic process, and was unlikely to succeed. They also said it could shake voters’ confidence in the result. Michael McNulty, a former senior elections adviser for the U.S. Agency for International Development who has studied elections in El Salvador, Hungary and Venezuela, called it “part of the election takeover playbook that I've seen around the world and unfortunately in some other autocratic environments.” He added: “Trump has essentially undermined the independence of the D.O.J. and it's been weaponized.”

Blanche previously represented Trump as a personal attorney before Trump appointed him to lead the Justice Department, which filed the Alaska suit. Blanche also defended Trump in his election interference case; Trump’s election to a second White House term effectively ended the criminal prosecution. Voters still face a federal lawsuit over how their votes may be counted.