U.S.
DOJ asks court to delay Alaska Senate certification under a vote-count condition
The Oct. 22 lawsuit says a second candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan could confuse voters. It seeks a pause only if the incumbent loses and those votes could have changed the winner under ranked-choice counting.
Executive summary
- The request: The Justice Department’s Oct. 22 complaint asks a federal judge to bar Alaska from certifying the Senate result only if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses and counting all votes for Daniel J. Sullivan as votes for the senator would have changed the winner after ranked-choice tabulation. The complaint is a request for relief, not an order pausing certification.[1][2]
- The allegation: DOJ argues that the two candidates’ similar names could confuse voters and says the National Voter Registration Act supports federal intervention. Those claims have not been tested in this case.[1][3]
- The ballot dispute: Daniel J. Sullivan remains on the ballot after Alaska courts reversed an election official’s decision to exclude him. He says he entered the race on his own; the Peltola campaign has denied involvement.[1][2][4]
The United States sued Alaska in the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska on Oct. 22. The complaint, No. 3:26-cv-00376-SLG, names the state, Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher, state election boards and the State Ballot Counting Review Board. DOJ invokes the National Voter Registration Act, whose stated purposes include protecting the integrity of the electoral process, and asks for declaratory and injunctive relief.[1][3]
The requested pause is conditional. DOJ says it should apply if Sen. Sullivan loses and if a ranked-choice recounting that reassigned every vote for Daniel J. Sullivan to the senator would have changed who won. The department asks the court to hold certification while officials investigate whether votes for the second Sullivan were intended for the senator. The lawsuit does not itself halt Alaska’s election process; that would require a court order.[1][2]
Alaska’s Division of Elections initially rejected Daniel J. Sullivan’s filing, saying it was intended to confuse voters. A state judge ordered him restored to the ballot, and the Alaska Supreme Court summarily affirmed that ruling in June. The DOJ complaint says the state high court had not yet issued its promised full opinion when the federal case was filed. The state courts addressed ballot access; the federal case raises a separate request about certification after votes are counted.[4][1][2]
The two candidates remain distinct people: incumbent Dan S. Sullivan is listed as a Republican and incumbent, while the other candidate is Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. DOJ’s account that the latter intends to mislead voters is an allegation, not a finding in this federal case. Daniel J. Sullivan has said he is running on his own, and Mary Peltola’s campaign has denied involvement.[1][2][3]
DOJ relies on the NVRA’s broad statement about election integrity and the attorney general’s authority to enforce the law. Notre Dame law professor Derek Muller told the Associated Press that the statute does not authorize the department to enjoin certification. That is an expert’s assessment, not a ruling; the court has yet to decide whether DOJ can obtain the relief it seeks.[1][2]
President Donald Trump said Friday that he directed DOJ to file the lawsuit. The Nov. 3 election has not happened, so neither the vote totals nor any effect from the two candidates’ names is known. The case asks a federal court to intervene only if its specified post-election conditions are met.[2][3]