DOJ Sues Alaska to Block Certification of Senate Race if Sullivan Loses and Namesake's Votes Could Have Changed Outcome

The Department of Justice has sued the state of Alaska over its U.S. Senate race, 12 days before Election Day.

The complaint, filed Thursday, Oct. 22, names the state, the director of its Division of Elections, its election boards and others, according to Newsweek's reporting on the filing. It alleges that Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. entered the race to divert votes from Republican incumbent Dan S. Sullivan by getting voters to mistake one for the other.

What the DOJ is asking for

The suit asks the court to block certification of a "potentially affected" result. That would apply if the Trump-endorsed incumbent loses and the votes cast for Daniel J. would have changed the winner under Alaska's ranked-choice system had they gone to the incumbent instead.

It also asks for an investigation into whether Alaskans who voted for Daniel J. actually meant to vote for the senator. And it seeks further procedures to determine what the result would have been without the alleged confusion.

The complaint does not appear to explain how voter intent would be established after ballots are cast. That is the practical problem with the remedy.

Trump's posts and rally remarks

The suit follows days of public pressure from the president. At a Tuesday, Oct. 20 rally in Wasilla, Trump urged the crowd to send "the real Dan Sullivan" back to Washington and reject "the fake Dan Sullivan," whom he said was "put up by" Democrats.

On Truth Social at 10:28 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Oct. 21, he wrote that the race is "totally confusing," called it a "SCAM," and said the judge who allowed it "should be ashamed of himself." He added: "We are looking at powerful legal options to remove the fraudulent Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. from the Ballot."

Trump also wrote that the incumbent "is leading by a lot" and, in the same post, that "even 1, 2, or 3% could make the difference." Polls cited in the Guardian and the Daily Beast show a close race against Democrat Mary Peltola, with Peltola the narrow favorite in several.

The other Sullivan

Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. is a retired elementary-school teacher from Petersburg. He belonged to the Alaska Independence Party until it dissolved late last year, then registered as a Republican when he filed for the Senate in May. He filed on May 29.

He denies being a plant. In June correspondence with state investigators he said he had no contact with Peltola's campaign, and he has said he ran out of frustration with the senator. Alaska News reports that no Division of Elections record supports the claim that Democrats put him up. Trump's post says Democrats did.

The incumbent's side sees it differently. Sullivan has said of his namesake: "He's in it to rig it." The National Republican Senatorial Committee asked state officials to investigate whether the candidacy was meant to confuse voters and siphon votes toward Peltola.

How the courts got here

The state itself took the confusion argument seriously. Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher issued a preliminary decision that Daniel J. could not appear on the ballot, writing that his candidacy was filed "with a purpose to confuse or mislead." The division sits under Republican Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom.

Superior Court Judge Thomas A. Matthews ruled June 26 that the division had "abused its discretion" and that Daniel J. must stay on the ballot. The Alaska Supreme Court affirmed in a brief order June 29, hours after oral arguments, and said a fuller opinion would follow. The justices rejected the "good faith" standard the state had applied.

The court told the division to decide how the challenger would be listed "within the confines of existing Alaska ballot design law." The ballot lists "Sullivan, Dan S." with the words "(Registered Republican) Incumbent," and "Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr."

The ranked-choice question

Alaska voters can rank up to five candidates. If no one clears 50% in the first round, the last-place candidate is eliminated and those ballots move to each voter's next choice.

A voter who ranks both Sullivans can still have a vote count for the incumbent in the final round. A ballot that ranks only one is exhausted if that candidate is eliminated. Daniel J. took about 2.5% in the August top-four primary, where Peltola got 49.5% and the incumbent 41.4%.

Trump also attacked ranked-choice voting itself in Wasilla, calling it "a scam" and urging support for this year's ballot measure to repeal the system voters approved in 2020.

What Peltola's side says

A Peltola campaign spokesperson did not address the lawsuit in the statement released around the rally. It said she "looks forward to working with President Trump to unleash Alaska energy and lower costs" and criticized Sullivan's support for the war in Iran.

The confusion concern has a real basis: two men with nearly identical names, both labeled Republican, on one ballot. State election officials, not just partisans, flagged it first. But the courts have ruled on the narrower question of ballot access, and the DOJ suit asks for something different: a post-election judicial inquiry into what voters intended.

A court will now have to decide whether to hear that request before Nov. 3, and whether a federal judge can hold up certification of a state's Senate result on a theory about voter intent. Neither the DOJ nor the Sullivan campaign has said what evidence of actual voter confusion exists.