Alaska Senate: US judge rejects Trump administration’s bid to block certification if Dan Sullivan loses | Today’s news
A federal judge on Sunday dismissed a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit seeking to block certification of the Alaska Senate election if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses to Democratic challenger Mary Peltola.
The decision comes just days before an election that could help determine which party controls the U.S. Senate. Sullivan, an ally of President Donald Trump, faces former U.S. Rep. Peltola in one of the nation’s most closely watched races.
Tuesday’s election will be ranked-choice voting and will also feature two candidates who did not campaign. One of them shares the name of a sitting senator.
The Justice Department filed the lawsuit less than two weeks before the election, while early voting was already underway. She sought to investigate whether votes cast by retired teacher Dan J. Sullivan were actually intended for the Republican senator.
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Alaska officials argued that the lawsuit lacked merit and that determining voter intent would not be possible without jeopardizing the secrecy of the ballot.
U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason said in her order that the relief sought by the government was “unfeasible” because many voters had already cast their ballots. These ballots were mixed up to the point where it was no longer possible to determine the identity of the individuals who cast them.
“More significantly, the United States provides no feasible plan for how it proposes to separate the ballots cast for Daniel J. Sullivan on Election Day and then conduct a court-ordered unspecified ‘investigation’ of those ballots in a manner that preserves voter secrecy,” she wrote.
Why is Alaska’s Senate election mired in “candidate baiting” controversy?
The lawsuit involves allegations that Democratic candidate Mary Peltola and her campaign were involved in recruiting a retired teacher named Dan Sullivan to enter the Senate race, potentially confusing voters.
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Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan said Sunday that he doubts Peltola’s claims that she was unaware of the alleged involvement of her top political advisers in recruiting the other candidate.
Republicans have long suspected that Peltola and her campaign were behind the presence of the other Sullivan on the ballot. Their suspicions were bolstered by a New York Times report published last week that cited interviews with Peltoly’s former campaign manager, text messages and campaign finance documents. The report said an agent trying to recruit bait candidates was paid by a group supporting Peltola.
“There’s no way this went on for a year when they didn’t inform her,” Sullivan told CNN’s “State of the Union” two days before Election Day. “She was caught lying and continues to lie to the people of Alaska, the media and all of us.”
Peltola denied any involvement in the recruitment of the second Sullivan. She described the attention surrounding the issue as a “distraction” from the main concerns Alaskans face, including the high cost of the Iran war launched by Republican Donald Trump.
Her campaign also denied involvement, as did the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, a national Democratic organization focused on Senate elections.
Before Friday’s rally, Peltola was asked if anyone from her campaign may have been involved in recruiting the other candidate.
“I have no idea,” she told KTUU. “I honestly have no idea.
The other candidate is listed on the ballot as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., while the senator appears as Dan S. Sullivan and is identified as a Republican incumbent. The retired teacher claimed he entered the race of his own free will.
Trump calls for prosecution as federal agents investigate
Trump ordered his Justice Department to file a lawsuit to stop the certification of Peltola’s possible victory. The New York Times also called for criminal prosecution of the Democratic candidate after the report was published.
Federal agents subsequently arrived in Alaska and issued subpoenas as part of their investigation. But Republicans, including those working with Trump, also have a long history of supporting deceptive candidates in elections.
Alaska’s Republican governor has ordered an investigation and indicated he may not confirm Peltol’s possible victory.
South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who heads a Republican group focused on Senate races, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that criminal charges could be warranted.
“We know it’s criminal for candidates to work with other parties to confuse voters,” he said.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland, said sharing names with other people on ballots is something that “happens everywhere.” However, he said pursuing such a strategy was not something he would support.
“It’s a stupid policy,” he told NBC. “No one would do that and Mary Peltola said she had nothing to do with it.
Senator Bernie Sanders also weighed in on the controversy. The Vermont independent said on CBS’ “Face the Nation”:
“What the Democrats did in Alaska seems pretty stupid to me,” the Vermont independent said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “It’s not illegal. It happens in every election.”
Sullivan, a former Alaska attorney general, said he would “let the lawyers” determine whether any crimes were committed. He also said he believed the presence of a second candidate on the ballot would affect the outcome.
“I’m sure I’m going to lose a lot of votes because of this stunt,” Sullivan said.
Asked if he would urge state officials not to certify Peltola’s victory, Sullivan initially declined to give a direct answer before saying, “I will accept the election results.”
Dan Sullivan and Mary Peltola campaign before the election
Both candidates spent the final days of the campaign traveling across the vast Alaskan countryside.
On Saturday night, Sullivan was handing out candy at a trunk-or-treat event at a recreation center north of Anchorage. He joked that his costume was “the real Dan Sullivan”.
