Justice Department sues to block Alaska Senate certification if the Republican loses

WASHINGTON, October 23.— The U.S. Department of Justice has sued in federal court in Anchorage to block the state of Alaska from certifying the results of its U.S. Senate race if Republican Dan S. Sullivan loses, citing potential voter confusion over the presence on the ballot of another candidate with a nearly identical name, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday, October 22, asks the judge to declare that certifying “any result that may be impacted by voter confusion” would violate the federal voter registration law, and to block certification while an investigation determines whether votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. were actually intended for the senator.

President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday that he directed the action. “I'm the one that said do it,” he said, according to USA Today. It is the first attempt by the administration to preemptively block certification of a result in the November 3 midterm elections.

Sullivan, in the Senate since 2015, faces a close race against Democrat Mary Peltola that could decide control of the Senate, where Democrats need to net four seats. Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired teacher and former Forest Service worker, changed his registration between the primary and the general election and is running unaffiliated; Alaska elections director Carol Beecher determined in June that his candidacy sought to “confuse or mislead” voters, but the state Supreme Court allowed both men to appear on the ballot.

Notre Dame election law professor Derek Muller called the legal argument “one of the worst ones I've ever seen” and said the lawsuit “is designed to win the press release rather than the litigation.” Peltola's campaign called it “a despicable political threat to overturn an election,” while Alaska's division of elections did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Photo: CNN/Getty Images

Source: USA Today