Justice Department seeks to block Alaska Senate certification under narrow condition

The Justice Department is asking a federal court to block certification of Alaska’s U.S. Senate election if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses but would have won had votes for another Republican candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan been counted for him.

The lawsuit, filed Friday against Alaska and its election division, alleges that the similarity between the candidates’ names and party affiliations could confuse voters and affect the outcome of the Nov. 3 race. Former Rep. Mary Peltola is the Democratic candidate. Gerald Heikes, another Republican, is also on the ballot.

The government alleges that Daniel J. Sullivan deliberately sought to confuse voters by running under a similar ballot name with the same party affiliation as the senator. The Guardian described Daniel Sullivan as a retired schoolteacher. Alaska courts have permitted him to remain on the ballot, according to CBS News.

In its filing, the Justice Department argued that Daniel J. Sullivan’s presence on the ballot “threatens to mislead Alaskan citizens who want to vote for Senator Sullivan.” Some voters intending to support the incumbent “likely will inadvertently vote for Daniel J. Sullivan,” the department said. Others, it argued, may be unsure how to rank the three Republican candidates and “might not rank Senator Sullivan at all.”

The department contends that certifying a result affected by such confusion would violate the National Voter Registration Act. It is seeking to halt certification under the specific condition that the incumbent loses but would have won if the other Sullivan’s votes were counted for him, pending an investigation into voter intent. The filing does not ask the court to block certification simply because the senator loses.

The incumbent will be identified on the ballot as “(Registered Republican) Incumbent” alongside his name, The Guardian reported. Under Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system, voters can rank up to five candidates rather than select only one. That system makes the order in which voters rank candidates part of the Justice Department’s argument about possible confusion.

Alaska voters approved changes to the state’s election system in 2020, and ranked-choice voting was first used in 2022. The move away from party primaries was intended to curb polarization, according to CBS News. President Donald Trump has criticized ranked-choice voting as a “scam” and urged Alaskans to support a ballot measure to repeal it, The Guardian reported.

The race is a significant target for Alaska Democrats, who see an opportunity to unseat the two-term Republican, according to The Guardian. The outlet reported that a Peltola victory would be the first Democratic win for the seat in nearly two decades. For now, the Justice Department’s challenge centers on a narrower question: whether votes cast for one Sullivan could prevent the other from being declared the winner.