Federal judge dismisses DOJ suit seeking to halt Alaska Senate certification

A federal judge in Alaska dismissed the Trump administration's lawsuit seeking to prevent state officials from certifying the results of the U.S. Senate race on Sunday. U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason issued the ruling, determining that the federal government did not have the legal authority to bring the case. The suit had relied on the preamble of the National Voter Registration Act to request an injunction against the certification process.

The Justice Department filed the action to stop state officials from certifying the election outcome pending an investigation. The central concern was potential voter confusion caused by the presence of two candidates with similar names on Alaska's ranked choice ballot. The government sought to pause the official declaration of a winner to allow for a review of the voting process.

Gleason, who was nominated by former President Barack Obama, concluded that the requested court order would likely infringe upon the right of Alaskan voters to a secret ballot. She noted that the United States failed to explain how the requested relief could address its alleged injury while preserving ballot secrecy. The judge wrote that the absence of such an explanation was telling.

The Justice Department indicated it plans to appeal the decision. Spokesperson Kiersten Pels stated that Alaskan voters deserve a fair election rather than being misled in an attempt to rig outcomes. Voting rights groups that intervened to defend the state against the lawsuit praised the ruling as a correction to a lawless attempt to throw out results before ballots were counted.

President Trump said he ordered the lawsuit because two of the four Senate candidates on the ballot share a surname. The Republican incumbent is Sen. Dan Sullivan, while the other candidate is Daniel Sullivan Jr., an independent. Alaska's Republican Party previously supported a state court effort to keep Sullivan Jr. off the ballot, but the Alaska Supreme Court ruled in June that the non incumbent had the right to run.

Republican leaders have alleged that Democrats supported Sullivan Jr. to spoil the incumbent's chances of reelection. A New York Times report regarding Democratic campaign operatives' efforts to recruit Sullivan Jr. drew new attention to these claims, though NPR has not independently confirmed the report. Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, has ordered an investigation into the race and indicated that certification may be delayed depending on the findings.

Dunleavy told NewsNation on Oct. 30 that if wrongdoing is found, the certification process may be stopped or changed. U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman announced at an Oct. 30 press conference in Anchorage that the Justice Department is conducting an ongoing criminal probe. Democratic candidate former Rep. Mary Peltola has denied any involvement in recruiting the independent candidate.

Incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan said in an interview with CNN on Sunday that he would accept the election results regardless of the outcome. More than 86,700 voters had cast ballots during early voting as of the latest figures from Alaska's Division of Elections. Voting continues through Election Day on Tuesday.