DOJ Targets Alaska Vote With 40-Plus Subpoenas

The Justice Department has issued more than 40 subpoenas and document-preservation requests in Alaska’s Senate race while seeking to block certification of the results if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses narrowly. The federal department says it wants to preserve its ability to challenge the result over alleged efforts to recruit another candidate named Dan Sullivan. Voters’ ballots—and the state’s role in running elections—are now caught in a widening contest among federal officials, state officials and campaigns.

Subpoenas and the federal reach

The department’s revised lawsuit argues that voters could confuse the two candidates with the same name. It came Thursday, four days before the Nov. 3 midterm election, and cited a New York Times report published Wednesday. That report alleged aides to Democratic candidate Mary Peltola worked with campaign lawyers and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee staff to recruit two candidates who could siphon votes from Sullivan.

One candidate, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., is a retired teacher running without a party affiliation. The Times reported that Peltola’s former campaign manager, Elisa Rios, who was fired in August, said Peltola knew about the effort. Peltola’s campaign said it had “no involvement with either Sullivan campaign.” The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee also denied involvement and accused Republicans of propping up candidates of their own in other races. Reuters said it had not verified the Times report.

Justice Department lawyers called the alleged effort a “conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the electoral process.” In the amended complaint, they wrote: “They orchestrated his sham campaign for the purpose of misleading Alaskan voters and getting Peltola elected.” The original lawsuit, filed the previous week, argues Daniel J. Sullivan’s candidacy violates the National Voter Registration Act; the revised filing adds a claim under the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.

One Justice Department official described the case as “not much more than a preservation suit,” saying it becomes harder to determine whether individual voters were confused once ballots are counted and separated from their envelopes. The department also sought information about what Peltola’s campaign knew about the alleged recruitment and when officials learned of it.

The official discussed possible investigative steps, including requests to technology companies to preserve information, search warrants for electronic communications, and grand jury subpoenas for documents or testimony. Asked what federal crimes might apply, the official cited two civil rights statutes: 18 U.S.C. Sections 241 and 242. Section 241 prohibits conspiracies to interfere with federally protected rights, including voting rights; Section 242 concerns the willful deprivation of rights under color of law. The official said prosecutors might examine whether there was a coordinated effort to trick voters into selecting a candidate.

Who gets to run the election?

The U.S. Constitution assigns election administration to the states, not the presidency. Alaska officials asked a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that responsibility for elections rests with the state. Alaska’s Supreme Court ruled in June that Dan J. Sullivan Jr. could compete in the midterms, and the state election office took steps to reduce confusion between the candidates. Recruiting candidates to split an opponent’s vote, known as ballot stacking, is generally considered legal and has been used by both parties in Alaska.

Justin Levitt, a former Department of Justice official under President Joe Biden, questioned the federal case’s reach. “I don’t know what they’re putting out subpoenas to investigate because I don’t know what federal violations are implicated that DOJ would have jurisdiction over,” he told The Associated Press. He added: “Sure makes it seem like the point of the investigation is to become the story.” The Justice Department official said the department knew of no confirmed instance of an Alaska voter mistakenly casting a ballot for the wrong Dan Sullivan: “I think I’ve not heard of that, but it’s hard to tell exactly.”

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy ordered a separate state investigation, directing the Department of Public Safety to examine whether the alleged recruitment effort violated state law and whether criminal or civil action was warranted. The same ballot dispute is therefore being examined through separate state and federal power centers, while voters’ intent remains disputed.

Campaign claims, institutional stakes

President Donald Trump had urged an investigation and called for Peltola and Daniel J. Sullivan to be removed from the ballot. Asked about the lawsuit, he said: “Well, I’m the one that said, ‘Do it.’” He called the alleged effort “a scheme” and “an election fraud. Total election fraud.” Peltola denied the accusations and said: “I feel like this is yet another diversion from the issue that Alaskans want to talk about, which is affordability.”

The New York Times reported that Representative James Comer, a Kentucky Republican who leads the House Oversight Committee, requested testimony from Rios and Jerid Kurtz, a strategist whom Rios said had traveled around Alaska trying to recruit potential spoiler candidates. Vice President JD Vance accused Peltola of trying to “steal” a seat; Peltola said she was not going anywhere.

Alaska’s contest is one of seven key Senate toss-ups and one of about 10 highly competitive races that could determine control of the chamber. Republicans held 53 of the Senate’s 100 seats, and Democrats needed a net gain of four seats to take control, according to USA Today. A dispute after the vote could leave control of the Senate unclear. The contest concerns which party controls the chamber during the remainder of Trump’s second term, while the Justice Department has also sought to challenge voting processes in other states, including California.