Alaska’s Republican-led state government on Saturday urged a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed at former President Donald Trump’s direction seeking to block the certification of a potential Democratic victory in the state’s closely watched U.S. Senate race. In a strongly worded filing, the attorney general’s office called the lawsuit “meritless” and argued there is no justification for the court to consider it further.
The legal challenge, filed by the U.S. Department of Justice, requests that certification of Democrat Mary Peltola’s possible win be halted until an investigation determines whether voters were confused by the presence of a second candidate on the ballot bearing the name Dan Sullivan, the same as incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan. The suit alleges that some ballots cast for the second Dan Sullivan, a retired schoolteacher from the remote fishing village of Petersburg, might have been mistakenly diverted from the senator.
On Friday, the Department of Justice requested that the judge order election officials to separate all ballots showing votes for the challenger Dan Sullivan pending further review. Alaska state officials described this request in their response as “both disturbing and impossible” to execute without violating voter privacy. The filing emphasized that the two Dan Sullivans are clearly distinguished on the ballot—the incumbent senator is listed with party affiliation and incumbency, while the other appears as “Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.” without party designation.
The lawsuit arises amid reports from The New York Times indicating that internal texts and communications suggested possible involvement by Peltola’s campaign in recruiting the second Dan Sullivan to appear on the ballot. Peltola has denied any role in this. Alaska’s Republican Governor Mike Dunleavy condemned the second Sullivan’s placement on the ballot and announced a state investigation. However, the Alaska Supreme Court upheld the second candidate’s legal right to remain on the ballot, and officials noted that these new allegations do not change the fact that both candidates qualified under state law.
The Trump administration has framed the lawsuit as an effort to uphold election integrity, citing a preamble in a 1990s federal law governing voter registration as a basis to intervene and prevent what it contends could be improper influence on the election outcome. The Department of Justice has issued subpoenas and launched a criminal investigation into the matter amid a broader intensification of legal actions supporting Trump’s position after the recent midterm elections.
Voting rights organizations and Peltola’s campaign have also called for the dismissal of the suit, aligning with state officials. The American Civil Liberties Union, in a court filing, warned against allowing the federal executive branch to unilaterally disrupt state election processes under broad interpretations of election oversight, describing it as a dangerous precedent inconsistent with constitutional principles.
U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Gleason set a Saturday deadline for arguments regarding whether the lawsuit should be dismissed without a hearing. The state’s filing urges the court to reject the challenge immediately and permit Alaska officials to proceed with the election certification without federal interference.