A federal judge has thrown out the Justice Department’s lawsuit seeking to block Alaska Senate certification if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses his race to Democrat Mary Peltola. U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason dismissed the case on Sunday in a 20 page order, just two days before voters head to the polls on Tuesday, November 3.
Certification is the final official step after an election. Once the votes are counted, state officials sign off on the results and the winner is formally declared. The DOJ wanted a court to stop that from happening in Alaska unless Sullivan came out on top. Trump has said he personally directed the Justice Department to file the suit.
The case centers on a second man named Dan Sullivan. A retired schoolteacher, he appears on the ballot as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., while the senator is listed as Dan S. Sullivan and marked as the Republican incumbent. The Justice Department argued that the second Sullivan’s name could pull votes away from the senator by confusing voters, and that Peltola would benefit as a result.
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To fix that, the DOJ asked the court to have Alaska set aside every ballot cast for Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. on Election Day, then run a court ordered investigation of those ballots while somehow keeping each voter’s choice secret. Gleason rejected the whole plan.
The core of her ruling was standing, which is the legal requirement that whoever files a lawsuit has to show they suffered a real injury that a court can actually fix. Gleason found the Justice Department failed that test because it could not show a court order would cure the harm it claimed. She also called the relief the government wanted “infeasible,” pointing out that many Alaskans have already voted.
Gleason also took issue with the timing. The Alaska Supreme Court ruled nearly four months ago that Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. could stay on the ballot, yet the DOJ waited until voting was already underway to sue.
Attorneys with the Alaska Department of Law, representing state election officials, had asked the judge to toss the case. Peltola filed her own request to have it dismissed.
The Justice Department filed a notice of appeal shortly after the ruling. A department spokesperson said in a statement that “Alaskan voters deserve a fair election, not to be misled in an attempt to rig outcomes.” The DOJ also claimed the judge dismissed the case only on procedural grounds and did not dispute its argument about the second Sullivan.
Peltola’s campaign celebrated the decision. “No sham investigation or baseless lawsuit from a weaponized Department of Justice is going to stop Alaskans from electing Mary,” the campaign said.
The fight over Alaska Senate certification is far from finished, though. Alongside the civil lawsuit, the Justice Department is running a criminal investigation into how the second Sullivan ended up on the ballot. Federal agents have been in Alaska, and on Thursday the DOJ issued a new round of grand jury subpoenas, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to the Associated Press. Trump has called for Peltola to be prosecuted.
Republicans have long suspected Peltola’s campaign was behind the second candidate. They point to a recent New York Times report built on interviews with Peltola’s former campaign manager, text messages, and campaign finance records showing that an operative trying to recruit decoy candidates was paid by a group backing Peltola. Peltola, her campaign, and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee have all denied any involvement. “I honestly have no idea,” Peltola told KTUU when asked whether anyone on her team played a role. Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. has maintained he decided to run on his own.
Sen. Sullivan said on CNN that he expects to “lose a lot of votes to that trickery,” but when pressed on whether the state should refuse to certify a Peltola victory, he said, “I’m going to accept the results of the election.” Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy has taken a harder line, ordering a state investigation and suggesting he may not certify a Peltola win.
Not everyone sees a crime here. Sen. Bernie Sanders called what happened in Alaska “pretty dumb” on CBS, but added, “It’s not illegal.” Republicans have also backed decoy candidates in past races.
The stakes reach well beyond Alaska. The Sullivan and Peltola contest is one of the tightest Senate races in the country and could decide which party controls the chamber. With the lawsuit tossed, Alaska Senate certification now depends on the vote count, the DOJ’s appeal, and whatever the governor decides to do once the results are in.
