Alaska State Government Asks Judge to Dismiss Trump-Directed Lawsuit Over Senate Race
The state's attorney general's office calls the lawsuit 'meritless' and 'impossible' to implement.
Alaska’s Republican-run state government is urging a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed at President Donald Trump’s direction to stop the certification of a possible Democratic win in the state’s U.S. Senate race. The state's attorney general's office stated in a filing Saturday that there is “no reason for this Court to entertain this meritless lawsuit any longer.”
U.S. District Court Judge Sharon L. Gleason had set a Saturday deadline for arguments regarding the dismissal of the lawsuit, which originated from the U.S. Department of Justice. Election law experts have criticized the complaint, which demands the judge halt the certification of a potential victory for Democrat Mary Peltola. The lawsuit’s central argument is that voters might have been confused by the presence of a second candidate on the ballot with the same name as Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.
On Friday, the Department of Justice added a request for the judge to separate any ballots showing votes for the second Dan Sullivan, asserting that voters may have been misled into casting a vote for a spoiler candidate. In its Saturday filing, Alaska countered that this action would be "both disturbing and impossible," and would violate voter privacy.
Trump also sought the prosecution of Peltola, following reports that Democratic campaign involvement in recruiting the second Sullivan, a retired teacher, onto the ballot was revealed through internal communications. However, Alaska officials noted that the ballot clearly distinguishes between the two candidates. The incumbent senator is listed as a Republican, while the other candidate is identified as “Daniel J. Sullivan.”
“State officials carefully designed the ballot to minimize voter confusion,” the filing states. “The Court should immediately dismiss this lawsuit with prejudice and allow state officials to conduct the general election — including ballot counting and certification — free from unwarranted federal interference.”