Judge Dismisses the Justice Department's Alaska Senate Lawsuit Two Days Before Election Day
The Trump administration had asked a court to block certification of Alaska's Senate results if Sen. Dan Sullivan narrowly loses to a challenger who shares almost his exact name. A federal judge said no on Sunday.
A federal judge on Sunday dismissed a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit that sought to block certification of Alaska's U.S. Senate election if Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan narrowly loses, according to the Associated Press report of the ruling. The race is one of a handful expected to determine control of the Senate after Tuesday's vote.
The Justice Department had argued that voters may be confused by the presence of a challenger named Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. on the same ballot as the incumbent, and it asked the court to block certification and order an investigation if the outcome suggested voters had picked the challenger by mistake. Sullivan's main challenger in Alaska's ranked-choice general election is Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola.
The ruling lands in a midterm that has already set a turnout record: more than 52 million Americans have voted in person or by mail, according to the University of Florida's Election Lab, up from nearly 46 million before Election Day in 2022. Thirty-five Senate seats and all 435 House seats are on Tuesday's ballot, with Republicans defending narrow majorities in both chambers - and, in Florida, Leon County voters deciding their own share of those House seats.
