The United States Department of Justice filed a lawsuit on Thursday to block the certification of Alaska’s Senate election results if incumbent Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan loses, citing potential voter confusion over two candidates sharing the same surname. Experts condemned the unprecedented federal intervention ahead of the November polls.
DOJ Seeks to Block Alaska Senate Race Certification
- The Department of Justice filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday seeking to block Alaska from certifying its Senate race results if Republican incumbent Dan S. Sullivan loses.
- October polls show Democratic candidate Mary Peltola leading Dan S. Sullivan by 2 to 7 points in a state Donald Trump won by 13 points in 2024.
- Voting rights scholars and Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski criticized the lawsuit as an unprecedented and legally baseless attempt to interfere in state election administration.
The Federal Lawsuit and the Two Sullivans on the Ballot
The Justice Department’s legal filing targets the presence of two candidates named Dan Sullivan on the Alaska ballot. Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan is running for re-election, while challenger Daniel J. Sullivan also entered the race. Although Daniel J. Sullivan initially registered as a Republican, he will no longer be listed as such to help voters distinguish between the two candidates. The GOP previously raised concerns in May, leading to a proposal to add the word “incumbent” beside the sitting senator’s name and include middle initials on the ballot.
The DOJ lawsuit claims that the sole purpose of Daniel J. Sullivan’s candidacy is to benefit Democratic challenger Mary Peltola. Under the department’s proposed remedy, if the incumbent loses but would have won by reallocating the challenger’s votes, the state should block certification and recalculate the ranked-choice count. In a Wednesday Truth Social post, Donald Trump stated he was very concerned about the race and described the situation as totally confusing, later telling reporters on Friday, “I’m the one that said do it.”
Alaskans don’t need any help voting for their preferred candidates, and the State of Alaska has already handled this by clearly distinguishing the candidates on this year’s ballot. The Department of Justice should never have filed this lawsuit.https://t.co/88tGvV0P8O
Alaska Courts Rule Sullivan Can Remain on Ballot
The effort to remove Daniel J. Sullivan from the ballot began months before the federal filing. In June, Alaska Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher wrote a letter saying he would be removed, claiming his candidacy was not filed in good faith. Daniel J. Sullivan challenged that decision in court, and Judge Thomas Matthews of Alaska’s Third District Superior Court ruled that he could remain on the ballot. The Alaska Supreme Court upheld that ruling on June 29, finding no “good faith” requirement in state law or the Constitution.
Despite the state court rulings, the DOJ issued grand jury subpoenas in August during an investigation into whether the candidate entered the race to confuse voters. Following Thursday’s federal filing, legal experts questioned the department’s reliance on the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. University of Notre Dame election law professor Derek Muller noted that the proposed investigation is essentially impossible and that the legal claim lacks likelihood of success. Center for Election Innovation and Research Executive Director David Becker called the move unprecedented, noting he could not recall an administration attempting to stop election certification 11 days before polls close. UCLA law professor Richard Hasen characterized the action as a desperate and unprofessional assault on the American elections system.
| Date | Legal or Electoral Event | Key Entity |
|---|---|---|
| June 2026 | State court rules candidate Daniel J. Sullivan can remain on ballot | Alaska Superior Court |
| June 29, 2026 | State Supreme Court upholds ballot placement | Alaska Supreme Court |
| August 2026 | DOJ issues grand jury subpoenas regarding candidate registration | U.S. Department of Justice |
| October 2026 | Trump posts on Truth Social expressing concern over Alaska ballot confusion | Donald Trump |
| October 2026 | DOJ files lawsuit to block certification under specific conditions | U.S. Department of Justice |
Political Fallout and Intervenors in the Federal Case
Political opposition to the federal lawsuit quickly crossed party lines in Alaska. Senator Lisa Murkowski, the state’s other Republican senator, condemned the department’s actions on X, writing that Alaskans do not need help voting for their preferred candidates and that the lawsuit should never have been filed. Meanwhile, October polling from The New York Times/Siena, Alaska Survey Research, and Data for Progress showed Peltola leading Dan S. Sullivan by between 2 and 7 points.
On Friday, Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee filed to join the lawsuit as defendants, asserting that Alaskans must elect Senator Dan S. Sullivan or face federal intervention. Cato Institute senior fellow Walter Olson warned that accepting the DOJ’s expansive reading of the National Voter Registration Act would federalize local election administration, giving the federal government a new basis to challenge how states design ballots and certify election results.
