A federal judge on Sunday dismissed the Justice Department lawsuit that sought to hold up certification of Alaska’s U.S. Senate race if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses on Tuesday. Within hours, the department said it would take the fight to a higher court.
U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason ruled in Anchorage that the federal government had failed to establish it had legal standing to bring the case. The ruling, released two days before Election Day, is a win for Democratic nominee Mary Peltola, whose campaign, along with state election officials and others, had asked the court to toss the suit.
What the lawsuit wanted
The case centers on the fact that two candidates named Dan Sullivan appear on Alaska’s ranked-choice ballot: the Republican incumbent, and a retired school teacher, Daniel J. Sullivan. The Justice Department argued the second Sullivan could confuse voters.
The lawsuit, filed Oct. 23, asked for an order preventing the state from certifying the result under certain circumstances, an order requiring Alaska to segregate and preserve certain ballots, and permission for the federal government to investigate the intent of voters who cast ballots for Daniel J. Sullivan. President Donald Trump has said he ordered the lawsuit.
Why the judge said no
In her 20-page decision, Gleason wrote that the government never explained how the remedy it wanted could fix its alleged injury while also protecting voters’ right to a secret ballot.
“The absence of any explanation from the United States as to how its requested relief could redress its alleged injury while simultaneously maintaining the secrecy of the ballot is telling,” Gleason wrote.
She also rejected the department’s claim that it was not trying to change the “time, place or manner” of Alaska’s election, writing that its requests “certainly involve the time, place, and manner of Alaska’s election, which are the responsibilities of the State, not the executive branch of the federal government.”
Gleason refused to let the Justice Department amend the complaint again, saying further amendment “would be futile because this Court lacks the authority to order that certain ballots cast by Alaskans be segregated so that federal law enforcement officials can conduct an unspecified investigation of the voters who cast them.”
DOJ heads to the 9th Circuit
The Justice Department quickly filed notice that it will appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, moving the case up the ladder right before Tuesday’s vote, according to CNBC and Bloomberg Law.
A DOJ spokesperson said the court “dismissed the case on procedural grounds but did not dispute the argument of the United States that Daniel J. Sullivan (a/k/a Decoy Dan) entered the race as a frivolous candidate to confuse voters.” The spokesperson added: “Alaskan voters deserve a fair election, not to be misled in an attempt to rig outcomes.”
The ruling came two days after the U.S. Attorney for Alaska said there were ongoing criminal and civil investigations into the second Sullivan’s decision to run.
How both sides reacted
Peltola’s campaign has been accused of soliciting the retired teacher to enter the race. The New York Times reported this week that Peltola campaign aides and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee aides were involved in efforts to recruit him. Both the campaign and the DSCC deny any involvement in his campaign.
“No sham investigation or baseless lawsuit from a weaponized Department of Justice is going to stop Alaskans from electing Mary on November 3rd so she can lower costs for Alaska’s working families,” Peltola’s campaign said Sunday.
DSCC Executive Director Devan Barber called the ruling “a victory for democracy and a clear message to Donald Trump and Senate Republicans: No one, no matter how powerful, can toss out free and fair elections just because they don’t like the result.”
Sen. Sullivan, speaking on CNN before the ruling came down, said he would accept the results if he lost. He also blasted Peltola’s campaign and the DSCC: “Recognizing they couldn’t run on their record, so they had to cheat,” he said.
Why it matters
Peltola and Sullivan are locked in a tight race decided by ranked-choice voting, and the outcome could help determine which party controls the Senate, where Republicans hold a narrow majority. With the appeal now pending, the legal fight over Alaska’s result may not be over when the polls close Tuesday.