Elections
Federal Judge Ends DOJ Bid to Hold Up Alaska's Senate Count Over Two Sullivans on the Ballot
A federal judge in Anchorage dismissed the Justice Department's suit to delay certifying Alaska's Senate race if Sen. Dan Sullivan loses, ruling that the remedy it sought would break the secret ballot. The department plans to appeal.
By Kacee Allen Network News Desk.
Editor’s note: The News Desk read the judge’s 20-page order in United States v. State of Alaska and checked its rulings against reporting from CNBC, CBS News and NPR. Statements from the Justice Department, President Trump, Sen. Dan Sullivan, the Peltola campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee are quoted as CNBC reported them. The Network did not reach the parties for this report. The Kentucky context section is the Network’s own analysis.
The Trump administration’s attempt to put Alaska’s Senate result on hold if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses ended in Anchorage federal court on Sunday, two days before voters finish casting ballots. The Justice Department has already said it will take the fight to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The ruling
U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Gleason granted motions to dismiss filed by the State of Alaska, the campaign of Democratic nominee Mary Peltola and the League of Women Voters. She ruled that the United States lacked standing because no court order could fix the harm it claimed without breaking the secrecy of the ballot.
The department had asked her to block certification of any result that voter confusion might have affected, set aside ballots cast for retired teacher Daniel J. Sullivan, and let federal officers investigate whether those voters really meant to pick the senator. Gleason wrote that ballots already cast have been mixed together and can no longer be tied to the people who cast them.
“The absence of any explanation from the United States as to how its requested relief could redress its alleged injury while simultaneously maintaining the secrecy of the ballot is telling,” she wrote.
She also refused to let the department amend its complaint a second time, finding that she has no power to order Alaskans’ ballots segregated “so that federal law enforcement officials can conduct an unspecified investigation of the voters who cast them.” The dismissal is without prejudice, which is standard when a court finds it lacks jurisdiction. The order did not decide whether anyone recruited the second Sullivan to run.
How the two Sullivans got on the ballot
Alaska’s elections director tried to keep Daniel J. Sullivan off the ballot in June, concluding his filing was meant to confuse voters. A state court reversed her, and the Alaska Supreme Court agreed. On the ballot, the senator appears as “Dan S. Sullivan” with the labels “Incumbent” and “Registered Republican,” while the other candidate’s name stands alone. In the August primary, Peltola drew 49.54% and Sen. Sullivan 41.40%, while Daniel J. Sullivan took 2.47%, according to the order. Under the ranked-choice count, second choices from minor candidates’ voters could decide a close race.
What each side said
A Justice Department spokesperson told CNBC the court ruled “on procedural grounds” and did not dispute the claim that Daniel J. Sullivan joined the race to confuse voters. President Trump, who has said he ordered the suit, called it “voter fraud at the highest level” and said Peltola “should be removed from the ballot and prosecuted.” Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee have denied any role in his candidacy.
Sen. Sullivan told CNN before the ruling that he would accept the results if he lost, CNBC reported.
Kentucky context (analysis)
Kentucky does not use ranked-choice voting, so a same-name spoiler cannot shift votes here the way it might in Alaska. The deeper point of Gleason’s order travels well, though: once a ballot is cast and separated from the voter, no court and no federal agency can go back and ask what that voter meant. Kentucky’s Constitution, like Alaska’s, guarantees a secret ballot.
The Alaska seat also matters for every Kentuckian watching Tuesday’s Senate race between Republican Andy Barr and Democrat Charles Booker. CNBC reported that Republicans hold only a narrow Senate majority, so a single seat in either state could tip control. What to watch next is how fast the 9th Circuit acts and whether Alaska’s ranked-choice tally comes down to the margin Daniel J. Sullivan draws.