Justice Department Sues to Block Alaska Senate Certification if Sen. Dan Sullivan Loses Over Same-Name Rival

The U.S. Justice Department has asked a federal court in Alaska to stop state election officials from certifying the result of the Nov. 3 U.S. Senate race in one specific situation: if Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan loses and the votes cast for a second candidate with nearly the same name would have been enough to change the outcome.

The complaint, United States v. State of Alaska, was filed Thursday, Oct. 22, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska in Anchorage. It names the state, Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher, the state’s election boards and the State Ballot Counting Review Board as defendants. The filing is signed by Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr.

Two Sullivans on one ballot

Sen. Sullivan, who has held the seat since 2015, faces Democrat and former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola in the general election. Also on the ballot is Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a former teacher who had never run for office before filing his candidacy in late May.

In June, the Alaska Division of Elections ruled that his filing was not a good-faith candidacy and removed him from the ballot. The division pointed to his request to appear as “Dan Sullivan,” a shortened name he had not registered to vote under, and to his request to be listed as a Republican despite no prior Republican affiliation in Alaska, according to the complaint. A state trial court reversed that decision, and the Alaska Supreme Court summarily affirmed on June 29, saying a full opinion would follow later. That opinion has not yet been issued.

The November ballot lists the incumbent as “Dan S. Sullivan,” marked as a registered Republican and the incumbent, while the other candidate appears as “Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.” with no party label, NBC News reported. In the August all-party primary, Peltola took 49.5% of the vote, Sen. Sullivan 41.4% and Sullivan Jr. 2.5%, according to the complaint.

What the government is asking for

Federal attorneys argue that the National Voter Registration Act requires states to protect “the integrity of the electoral process” and that certifying a result shaped by voter confusion would violate that duty. “For example, some supporters of Senator Sullivan likely will inadvertently vote for Daniel J. Sullivan,” the complaint says.

The suit asks the court to block certification if the senator loses and he would have won had every vote for Sullivan Jr. gone to him instead under Alaska’s ranked-choice count. It also asks that certification wait on an investigation into whether ballots for Sullivan Jr. were meant for the incumbent. The case number is 3:26-cv-00376.

Reaction

President Donald Trump told reporters Friday that he directed the filing. “I’m the one that said do it,” he said, according to NBC News. The same day the suit was filed, Attorney General Todd Blanche said “it is not DOJ’s intention to, and it’s never our intention to, improperly interfere with elections or the state confirmation process or certification process.”

A Justice Department spokesperson told NBC News that Sullivan Jr.’s “candidacy was intended to mislead voters and compromise the fairness of the ballot.”

David Becker, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Election Innovation & Research, called the case “an unprecedented intervention by the federal government” and said “this is purely a matter of state law.” As NBC News noted, certifying results falls to state and local election officials, who administer U.S. elections.

Sullivan Jr. did not respond to NBC News’ request for comment. He told The Associated Press in June that his campaign is not a sham. A Peltola spokesperson has said her “campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign.”

The case has been filed less than two weeks before Election Day on Nov. 3.