DOJ Sues to Hold Up Alaska Senate Result if Sen. Dan Sullivan Loses

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Harris
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Key Points

  • The Justice Department sued Alaska on Oct. 22 over the Senate race between Sen. Dan Sullivan and Democrat Mary Peltola.
  • The suit asks a judge to bar certification of any result that may be affected by voter confusion, pending an investigation, if the senator loses.
  • It targets a second candidate, Daniel J. Sullivan, whom the department accuses of running to mislead voters. He denies that.
  • President Trump said Friday, “Well, I’m the one that said ‘do it.'” Sen. Lisa Murkowski said the department should never have filed the case.
  • Voting continues. Election Day is Nov. 3, and ranked-choice tabulation is scheduled to start Nov. 18.

The Justice Department’s Alaska Senate lawsuit asks a federal judge to hold up certification of the state’s Senate result if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses and votes cast for a second, little-known candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan could have changed the outcome.

The complaint, filed Thursday, Oct. 22, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska, names the State of Alaska, Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher and state election boards as defendants. It is signed by Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr.

What happened

Sen. Sullivan, the incumbent, faces former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, a Democrat, in the Nov. 3 general election. Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired teacher also called Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. in some reports, filed for the same seat in late May, according to the complaint.

The complaint alleges he ran “with the intention of misleading” voters. It cites a June 15 letter in which Beecher found the filing was made “with a purpose to confuse or mislead.” According to the complaint, a state trial court and then the Alaska Supreme Court allowed him to stay on the ballot. The high court ruled on June 29.

In the August primary, the complaint says, Peltola received 49.5% of the vote, Sen. Sullivan 41.4% and Daniel J. Sullivan 2.5%. CNN reported the ballot lists the senator as Dan S. Sullivan, a registered Republican and the incumbent, and Daniel J. Sullivan with no party label.

The department’s request is conditional. The complaint asks the court to stop certification of “any result that may be impacted by voter confusion” if the senator does not win and if he would have won had all of Daniel J. Sullivan’s ranked-choice votes gone to him. That block would last “pending an investigation to determine whether votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan were meant to be cast for Senator Sullivan.” The claim rests on the National Voter Registration Act.

Latest development

Asked about the lawsuit in Florida on Friday, President Donald Trump told reporters, “Well, I’m the one that said ‘do it,'” CNN reported. Earlier this week he called the second candidacy a “SCAM” on Truth Social.

A Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement reported by CNN that the department is acting so that “this frivolous candidacy does not undermine the integrity of Alaska’s election or the will of its voters.” The same day the suit was filed, Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters, “I’m not trying to not have an election certified. Of course not,” NBC News reported.

Nate Adams, a spokesman for Sen. Sullivan, told CNN the senator will “let the DOJ complaint run its course.” Peltola spokesperson Harry Child called the suit “a despicable political threat to overturn an election.” Peltola wrote on X, “This is the corruption AK is fed up with.” Her campaign has said it “has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign.”

Murkowski, Alaska’s other Republican senator, wrote on X: “Alaskans don’t need any help voting for their preferred candidates.” She added, “The Department of Justice should never have filed this lawsuit.”

Daniel J. Sullivan did not respond to NBC News about the lawsuit. In June he told The Associated Press, as NBC reported, “I have every right to run for whatever office I’m qualified for.” He told Courthouse News in August, “It’s a free country.”

What is confirmed

  • The suit was filed Oct. 22 and assigned to U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Gleason, according to CNN and Courthouse News.
  • The complaint seeks no halt to voting. Early voting began Oct. 19.
  • The Division of Elections said it is reviewing the complaint.

What remains uncertain

  • Whether the court will act before certification.
  • How any investigation could tell which Sullivan voters meant to pick.
  • Whether the result will meet the complaint’s condition.

Why it matters

The race could help decide control of the Senate. The Cook Political Report rates it a toss-up, CNBC reported.

Election law experts questioned the legal theory. Derek Muller of Notre Dame Law School told CNN it was “strange and unusual” and said the effect of voter confusion is “impossible to measure after the fact.” David Becker of the Center for Election Innovation and Research called the case “an unprecedented intervention by the federal government,” according to NBC News. Vanita Gupta, a Justice official under President Biden, called it “meritless,” CNN reported.

Muller also noted that Alaska put middle initials on the ballot and marked the senator as the incumbent. See how courts handle requests to pause government action.

What happens next

The state’s official schedule lists Election Day on Nov. 3, ranked-choice tabulation starting Nov. 18 and a Nov. 25 target for certification by the State Review Board. CNN reported Friday that the department had not asked the court for emergency action.

Under Alaska’s ranked-choice system, voters may rank as many candidates as they like, including both Sullivans.

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