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By Steve Mollman
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A federal judge has dismissed the Trump administration’s attempt to block Alaska from certifying the results of its closely watched U.S. Senate election if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses.
U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason ruled Sunday that the federal government could not bring the lawsuit under the National Voter Registration Act, finding that the statute did not provide a cause of action for its claim. The Justice Department had sought to prevent certification while authorities investigated whether voters could be confused by two similarly named candidates on the state’s ranked-choice ballot.
The ballot identifies the incumbent as “Dan S. Sullivan (Registered Republican) Incumbent,” while another candidate appears as “Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.” without a party designation. Sullivan Jr., a retired teacher from Petersburg, changed his voter registration from Republican to undeclared before the general election.
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Gleason also concluded that the government had failed to explain how its proposed remedy would address its alleged injury without threatening Alaskans’ right to cast a secret ballot.
“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,” wrote Gleason, who was nominated to the federal bench by former President Barack Obama.
Newsweek reached out to the White House and the Justice Department for comment on Sunday.
DOJ Will Appeal Ruling on Alaska Senate Election
The Justice Department plans to appeal the dismissal, spokesperson Kiersten Pels told NPR.
“Alaskan voters deserve a fair election, not to be misled in an attempt to rig outcomes,” Pels said.
President Donald Trump has said he ordered the lawsuit over concerns about the two similarly named candidates appearing on the ballot in Tuesday’s election. The race also includes Democratic former Representative Mary Peltola and Republican Gerald Heikes.
Trump escalated his attacks on Sullivan Jr. on Sunday, writing on Truth Social that the “Fake Daniel J. Sullivan, Jr., has DISAPPEARED” and claiming that “Nobody can find him, including Law Enforcement.” Trump accused Sullivan Jr. of committing a “Criminal Act” but did not provide evidence for the claims.
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The federal government had asked Gleason to order Alaska election officials to preserve and segregate ballots ranking Sullivan Jr. so authorities could investigate whether voters mistakenly selected him instead of the incumbent.
Alaska’s Republican-led government urged the court to dismiss the case, calling the Justice Department’s position “meritless.” State attorneys argued that segregating ballots would be practically difficult and potentially incompatible with voter-privacy protections because ballots could show how voters ranked the candidates but not why they selected Sullivan Jr.
The state also argued that Alaska’s ranked-choice system allows voters to rank both men. If one Sullivan is eliminated during the tabulation process, ballots ranking him first can transfer to the other Sullivan if he is the voter’s next remaining choice.
Jamie Raskin Responds to Trump’s ‘Incumbent’ Comments
Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin defended the wording of Alaska’s ballot Sunday after Trump argued that many voters do not understand the meaning of “incumbent.”
“They identified the incumbent as the Republican incumbent. It could not be clearer,” Raskin said during an interview on NBC News’ Meet the Press. “Donald Trump says people don’t know the word incumbent. He should speak for himself, because the vast majority of Americans obviously do.”
While defending the ballot’s wording, Raskin criticized the alleged effort to recruit candidates who shared Sullivan’s name, describing it as “stupid politics” and “ridiculous politics.”
Why Two Dan Sullivans Are on the Alaska Ballot
The dispute over Sullivan Jr.’s candidacy began months before Election Day. The Alaska Division of Elections initially removed him from the ballot after concluding that he had filed “with a purpose to confuse or mislead.”
A state judge later reversed that decision, ruling that Alaska law did not impose a good-faith requirement on candidates seeking office. The Alaska Supreme Court affirmed the decision in June, allowing Sullivan Jr. to appear on the general-election ballot.
The controversy intensified after The New York Times reported that people working with Peltola’s campaign and senior Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee aides had participated in efforts to recruit Sullivan Jr. and other candidates who could draw support from the Republican incumbent.
Peltola’s campaign and the DSCC have denied recruiting Sullivan Jr. or other candidates. Sullivan Jr. has said that he entered the race because he was dissatisfied with the incumbent and wanted to give voters another option.
Criminal Investigations Continue Despite Lawsuit’s Dismissal
Gleason’s ruling rejects the Justice Department’s current civil attempt to block certification, although the department plans to appeal. It does not end the separate federal criminal investigation or Alaska’s state investigation into the alleged candidate-recruitment effort.
The Justice Department has issued grand jury subpoenas seeking testimony or documents as part of its investigation. U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman has confirmed that a criminal probe is ongoing, although federal authorities have not publicly identified its targets or disclosed the potential offenses they are examining.
Republican Governor Mike Dunleavy also directed the Alaska Department of Public Safety to investigate the allegations. The department later confirmed to Newsweek that the Alaska Bureau of Investigation had initiated an investigation and would work with the Alaska Department of Law.
Dunleavy has suggested that the investigation’s findings could affect certification of the Senate election.
“If we find out there’s wrongdoing, and if that means that the certification then is stopped or changed, then that’s what happens,” Dunleavy told NewsNation on October 30.
Sullivan said Sunday that he would accept the election results whether he wins or loses.
The situation has placed Alaska’s Republican administration in an unusual position. Dunleavy ordered a state investigation and raised the possibility of consequences for certification, while attorneys representing Alaska successfully argued that the Justice Department lacked a legal basis for its requested relief.
Democrats and Voting Rights Groups Welcome Dismissal
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee called the ruling a victory for voters and accused the Trump administration of trying to subvert the Senate election.
“Today’s ruling is a victory for democracy and a clear message to Donald Trump and Senate Republicans: No one, no matter how powerful, can toss out free and fair elections just because they don’t like the result,” DSCC Executive Director Devan Barber said.
Barber also expressed confidence that Alaska voters would elect Peltola.
The NAACP, which filed an amicus brief in the case, also welcomed Gleason’s decision.
“This is a big win for the voters in Alaska and confirms that states run elections in our country,” NAACP General Counsel Kristen Clarke, a former assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Justice Department, said Sunday.
Clarke called the lawsuit a “baseless, eleventh-hour attempt to hijack this midterm election.”
Newsweek reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here.
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