DOJ Renews Bid to Block Alaska Election Results: Revised Lawsuit, 40 Subpoenas and the Two Dan Sullivans on One Ballot
Five days before the midterms, the Justice Department has amended its Alaska lawsuit - it now asks a court to decertify the Senate result if the Republican incumbent loses narrowly, over a same-name challenger his Democratic rival's campaign is accused of recruiting.
WASHINGTON - The Justice Department filed a revised lawsuit on Thursday seeking to decertify the results of Alaska's U.S. Senate race if Republican incumbent Dan S. Sullivan loses narrowly, Sangathy News reported Friday morning from Reuters reporting - an updated federal bid, five days before the November 3 midterms, built on a New York Times report that members of Democratic challenger Mary Peltola's campaign helped recruit a retired teacher, Dan J. Sullivan Jr., to run as a spoiler against the incumbent who shares his name. Alaska's race is one of seven key toss-ups likely to decide whether Republicans keep their Senate majority, which stands at 53 of 100 seats.
The amended complaint sharpens the government's language and its reach. 'They orchestrated his sham campaign for the purpose of misleading Alaskan voters and getting Peltola elected,' Justice Department lawyers wrote, and the department has issued 40 subpoenas and document preservation requests as part of the revised filing. Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy has also ordered a criminal investigation. President Trump, who called on October 28 for Peltola to be prosecuted and taken off the ballot, is an ally of the incumbent; Peltola's campaign has denied any involvement in the second Sullivan's bid, and no court has ordered either candidate removed.
The legal ground under the suit is contested, and the story carries that plainly. Election administration under the U.S. Constitution falls to the states; Alaska's Supreme Court ruled in June that the challenger Sullivan could compete in the midterms, the state's election office has taken steps to reduce confusion between the two names on the ballot, and recruiting a candidate to split an opponent's vote - ballot stacking - is generally considered legal and has been used by both parties in Alaska. Justin Levitt, a former Justice Department official under President Biden, questioned the federal basis to the Associated Press: 'I don't know what they're putting out subpoenas to investigate because I don't know what federal violations are implicated that DOJ would have jurisdiction over. Sure makes it seem like the point of the investigation is to become the story.' The case is active heading into Election Day, and the count in Alaska is now set to be litigated alongside the vote itself.
