U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason expressed significant skepticism Monday regarding the Justice Department's legal strategy to preemptively block the certification of Alaska's Senate race if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses, noting the late timing of the government's action.
In her initial order addressing the case, Gleason highlighted that the Justice Department initiated its lawsuit on October 22, 2026, nearly four months after the Alaska Supreme Court had directed the Division of Elections to include Dan J. Sullivan on the ballot for the upcoming November election. This filing occurred after Alaskans had already started casting their ballots.
The lawsuit seeks a court order to prevent the certification of the November election results under specific conditions: if Dan S. Sullivan does not win, and if all votes cast for Dan J. Sullivan had instead been cast for Dan S. Sullivan, with the state's ranked-choice voting process resulting in Dan S. Sullivan's victory.
President Donald Trump had announced Friday that he had directed the Justice Department to file the suit, citing concerns over potential voter confusion due to the similar names of the candidates: incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan and challenger Dan J. Sullivan. Republicans have alleged that Dan J. Sullivan is running a campaign designed to confuse voters and siphon votes away from the incumbent.
Gleason stated that she intends to rule on a request for outside parties to join the case by Wednesday at 5 p.m. local time. It remains unclear whether a hearing will be scheduled.