The Justice Department on Friday filed a lawsuit to block the results of Alaska’s highly competitive Senate race in November should it be impacted by “voter confusion.”
Republicans have said they are worried about the race, which features Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and Democrat Mary Peltola as the primary contenders, because of the presence of a second Dan Sullivan on the state’s ranked-choice ballot. After the second Sullivan garnered 2.5% of the total vote in the primaries, Republicans fear the setup in the general election could confuse voters, possibly costing the GOP precious votes in the tight race. Control of the Senate could hinge on the Alaska election.
The DOJ entered the saga this week, filing a lawsuit in federal court in Anchorage that asked the results to be blocked in November should any electoral results be “tainted by the inclusion on the ballot of Daniel J. Sullivan.” The Justice Department requested an investigation post-election to determine whether votes cast for candidate Daniel J. Sullivan, who is also running as a Republican, were meant to be cast for Sen. Sullivan.
“Given the substantial likelihood that the inclusion of Daniel J. Sullivan will confuse or mislead voters looking to cast a vote for Senator Sullivan, and thus distort the will of Alaskan voters, there is a substantial likelihood that a certification of the election will reflect an electoral process that lacked integrity,” the lawsuit reads.
The lawsuit contended that besides running as a Republican, the second Dan Sullivan’s campaign branding and website also bear marked similarities to the senator’s, likely confusing voters. The DOJ suggested the second Sullivan is likely a Democratic plant aimed at deliberately confusing voters, saying he has links to Peltola’s campaign and that he told the New York Times this year that he voted for Democrats in the last three presidential elections and voted for Peltola when she ran for Congress.
“Should Alaska certify any electoral results tainted by the inclusion on the ballot of Daniel J. Sullivan … the State and its officers will fail in its obligation to protect the integrity of its election,” the lawsuit reads. “There is a realistic chance that, even if a majority of Alaskans wish to vote for Senator Sullivan, Daniel J. Sullivan’s presence on the ballot will result in a victory for Peltola.”
Democrats swiftly panned the lawsuit as an effort to steal the close election.
“Donald Trump knows that Dan Sullivan is going to lose the election, so now his Department of Justice is filing a sham lawsuit to overturn the will of Alaska voters and steal an election when he loses,” Executive Director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Devan Barber said.
Center for Election Innovation & Research also condemned the development, claiming it marks “an unprecedented intervention by the federal government.”
“This issue has already been fully litigated by Alaska’s courts,” CEIR Executive Director David Becker said. “Alaska election officials are following state law, as the Constitution requires, and the courts will uphold that.”
GOP LAUNCHES ‘JIHAD JEOPARDY’ GAME TO HIGHLIGHT ABDUL EL SAYED’S CONTROVERSIES
Republicans lost a battle to keep the second Dan Sullivan off the ballot in late June. At the time, Alaska’s Supreme Court backed up Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews’ ruling that tossed out the state’s Division of Elections’s decision on the race.
The elections board said Dan J. Sullivan was ineligible to challenge Sen. Sullivan’s bid for reelection because his candidacy was designed “to confuse or mislead and to thereby compromise the ballot’s fairness or neutrality.” But the courts reversed the decision, with Justice Aimee Oravec arguing that “there’s a lot of different ways you can distinguish these two candidates on the ballot, short of precluding access to the ballot to begin with.”
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
