Republican state officials in Alaska submitted a formal request on Saturday to a federal judge, asking for the permanent dismissal of a lawsuit filed by the Trump administration. The federal government has sought to prevent the certification of the state's Senate race results if incumbent Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan does not win. State leaders described the federal challenge as meritless and argued that the requested remedy is incompatible with the fundamental right of voters to keep their ballots secret.
The legal maneuver comes with significant urgency, as Election Day is only three days away. A federal judge is expected to issue a ruling soon on whether to dismiss the case or allow it to proceed. The core of the dispute involves a confusing ballot that lists two candidates with nearly identical names: the incumbent, Dan S. Sullivan, and a retired teacher, Dan J. Sullivan.
The administration's lawsuit, originally filed on October 22, argues that the results of this competitive race should not be certified unless Dan S. Sullivan is declared the winner. The federal government claims that the campaign of Democratic candidate Mary Peltola was involved in recruiting Dan J. Sullivan to run. Officials argue that this action creates a scenario where votes intended for the incumbent might be lost due to voter confusion. Peltola has consistently denied these allegations.
In their Saturday filing, Alaska officials challenged the legal standing of the federal government to intervene in the election, noting that the constitution leaves the certification of elections to the states. They pointed out that the Alaska Supreme Court had approved Dan J. Sullivan's placement on the ballot months earlier. State leaders emphasized that they had carefully designed the ballot to minimize potential confusion for voters.
A major point of contention in the new filing is the Justice Department's proposal to physically separate, or segregate, ballots that rank Dan J. Sullivan. Alaska officials criticized this idea as unexplained and illogical. The filing stated that regardless of how the physical ballots are stored, it will be straightforward to identify which ones rank Daniel J. Sullivan. The state argued that if the federal government intended a different meaning, the proposal was both disturbing and impossible to execute.
The Alaska attorney general's office requested that the judge immediately dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice. This would allow state officials to conduct the general election, including the counting and certification of ballots, without what they described as unwarranted federal interference.
The legal battle intensified this week when the Trump administration amended its complaint to cite recent reporting from The New York Times. The article alleged that Peltola's campaign was involved in recruiting Dan J. Sullivan and that Peltola was aware of the situation. The report cited a former campaign manager who later attempted to retract her statements.
Peltola addressed the controversy at a rally on Friday night, expressing her frustration to a crowd of supporters. She said she was deeply offended by the accusations regarding her involvement in another person's candidacy. She clarified that she wanted fewer candidates in the primary and was not seeking more competition, adding that she did not need help to defeat the incumbent.
Senator Dan S. Sullivan also weighed in on the dispute during a Saturday interview with Fox News. He suggested that it was unlikely Peltola did not know about the recruitment of Dan J. Sullivan. Sullivan described the situation as a form of deception and, at its worst, a sign of disdain for Alaskans. He argued that the opposing side was trying to ensure that Alaskans would effectively throw away their votes.
