Alaska Senate Race Lawsuit Dismissed by Federal Judge before midterm vote
The judge said the plan to set aside ballots cast for a retired teacher who shares Senator Dan Sullivan’s name would break voters’ right to a secret ballot. The Justice Department filed an appeal within an hour.
ANCHORAGE, Nov 3 – A federal judge on Sunday dismissed the Trump administration’s lawsuit over Alaska’s Senate race. The case sought to prevent the state from certifying a defeat for Republican Senator Dan Sullivan if votes cast for a candidate with the same name could have altered the outcome.
United States District Judge Sharon Gleason in Anchorage ruled that the federal government had no legal standing to bring the case. She also found that its proposal to set aside certain ballots would violate Alaska voters’ right to a secret ballot.
Gleason said the government had offered “no workable plan” for separating ballots cast for the other candidate on Election Day and then investigating them while keeping votes secret.
The Justice Department filed a notice of appeal about an hour after the 20-page decision. In a statement, it said the dismissal was on procedural grounds. Alaska voters deserve a fair election and shouldn’t be misled in an attempt to rig the outcome, the department said.
The ruling is the latest setback for President Donald Trump’s efforts to give the federal government a bigger role in elections. Under the Constitution, states run elections.
Former Democratic Representative Mary Peltola is challenging Senator Dan Sullivan in Tuesday’s election. The race could help decide whether Republicans keep control of the Senate. Democrats need a net gain of at least four seats to take the chamber.
Alaska’s ballot lists four candidates. Besides Peltola and the senator, it includes Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired teacher who lives in a remote fishing village, and another long-shot candidate.
The ballot shows the senator as Dan S. Sullivan, Republican. The retired teacher appears as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., with no party listed. The state’s elections division says that wording already keeps confusion to a minimum.
The Justice Department filed the lawsuit on October 22. It claimed the retired teacher was running to mislead Senator Dan Sullivan’s supporters into voting for him by mistake. The department argued that certifying the result could violate the federal government’s duty to protect election integrity.
The suit asked the court to block certification of a Peltola win if giving all of Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.’s votes to the senator would have changed the outcome. In that case, it wanted the judge to look into whether those voters had meant to back the incumbent.
The Alaska Department of Law called the idea half-baked. State lawyers said such an investigation would be impossible, because ballots carry no voter names and are mixed in the ballot box to protect privacy.
Alaska’s elections division welcomed Sunday’s ruling. It said the decision turned back a last-minute federal attempt to interfere in the election and lets the state focus on running a fair vote.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which joined the case on Alaska’s side, said the judge had blocked an attempt to throw out the results before any ballots were counted.
“This administration keeps trying to tilt the midterms,” the group said.
Trump has said he ordered the Justice Department to file the suit. He has also called for Peltola to be criminally prosecuted.
The New York Times reported on October 28 that Peltola campaign staff had worked with a Democratic operative from Ohio to find another Dan Sullivan to run and draw votes away from the senator. That report hasn’t been independently verified.
Peltola has denied any role in recruiting the retired teacher: “I’m not interested in tricking voters,” Peltola said at a rally.
Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. has told news outlets that he isn’t trying to confuse voters. But he has said he would rather see Peltola win than the senator.
Senator Dan Sullivan has accused Peltola and aides to Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of cheating. He has called the retired teacher’s campaign a sham. Even so, the senator told CNN on Sunday that he would respect the outcome.
“I’m going to accept the election results,” Senator Dan Sullivan said.
It’s not clear whether any law was broken. Alaska law doesn’t bar spoiler candidates, and the Alaska Supreme Court ruled this summer that the retired teacher had a right to appear on the ballot.
Both major parties have sometimes used “ballot stacking,” supporting lesser-known candidates to draw votes away from their opponents.
Peltola’s campaign had called the lawsuit baseless. Voting in Alaska is taking place on Tuesday.
