Judge Sharon Gleason dismisses suit over Alaska Senate certification

Justice Department plans appeal as state and federal probes continue

The lawsuit asked a federal court to stop state officials from certifying Alaska’s U.S. Senate results if Dan Sullivan lost, pausing certification to allow an investigation into whether voters had been confused by two similarly named candidates on Alaska’s ranked-choice ballot. Gleason ruled that the federal government did not have the legal ability to bring the case and that the requested order would likely violate Alaskan voters’ right to a secret ballot.

The suit relied on the preamble of the National Voter Registration Act. Gleason, a nominee of former President Barack Obama, wrote, “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,” in the ruling.

President Trump said he had ordered the lawsuit because four candidates appeared on Alaska’s Senate ballot and two had similar names: Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan and Daniel Sullivan Jr., who was not affiliated with a political party. The naming dispute was the stated reason for seeking time to investigate possible voter confusion.

Alaska’s Republican Party had supported an earlier state-court effort to keep Sullivan Jr. off the ballot, but the Alaska Supreme Court ruled in June that he had the right to run as a candidate. Republican allegations that Democrats were supporting Sullivan Jr. to spoil Dan Sullivan’s chances of winning reelection had remained prominent in the Senate contest.

A New York Times report about Democratic campaign operatives’ efforts to recruit Sullivan Jr. drew new attention to those allegations, NPR said. NPR said it had not independently confirmed the report.

Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy ordered a state investigation and said the race’s results might not be certified depending on what it found. “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 said during an Oct. 30 interview with NewsNation.

At an Oct. 30 press conference in Anchorage, U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman said there was an “ongoing” criminal probe by the Justice Department. Mary Peltola, the Democratic candidate and a former representative, denied any involvement.

Justice Department spokesperson Kiersten Pels told NPR in a statement that the department planned to appeal Gleason’s ruling. “Alaskan voters deserve a fair election, not to be misled in an attempt to rig outcomes,” Pels said.

Voting-rights groups that had helped defend Alaska against the lawsuit welcomed the decision. Sophia Lin Lakin, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Voting Rights Project, said in a statement: “DOJ’s attempt to throw out Alaska’s election results before a single ballot was counted was lawless from the start, and the court saw it for exactly what it was. It was a reckless waste of taxpayer money aimed at silencing hundreds of thousands of Alaska voters.”

In an interview Sunday with CNN’s State of the Union, Dan Sullivan said he would accept the election results whether he won or lost.

The controversy had not stopped Alaskans from voting. More than 86,700 voters had cast ballots during early voting, according to the latest figures from Alaska’s Division of Elections, and more Alaskans were expected to vote through Tuesday’s Election Day.