A court has rejected a lawsuit filed by the US Justice Department at President Donald Trump’s direction that sought to intervene in Alaska’s Senate election. The suit aimed to prevent certification of the results if incumbent Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan lost votes because of a name mix-up on the ballot.
The Alaska ballot includes Sullivan, Democratic challenger Mary Peltola and political newcomer Dan J. Sullivan, who is running for the Republicans. Trump and his party feared that inattentive voters could mark their ballots incorrectly because of the identical names. The Justice Department had asked the court to order that certain ballots be preserved separately after the Senate election so it could later investigate whether voters had been confused.
The court said the government had not explained how a possible mix-up between the two Sullivan candidates could be clarified without violating ballot secrecy. Alaska argued that the ballots are unnamed and mixed to protect the secret vote, and that election secrecy is itself a key part of the integrity of the process. The state also said the federal government had no right to intervene because sovereignty over election administration rests with the states.
Alaska officials added that they had already addressed potential confusion: voters could inform themselves in advance, and the ballot was designed to label the two Sullivans differently. Dan S. Sullivan is listed with the designations “incumbent” and “registered Republican,” while the newcomer appears without those additions.
The Justice Department said it would fight the court decision. Senator Dan S. Sullivan told CNN that he would accept the election result. Trump’s party has suspected Democrats of encouraging the newcomer Dan J. Sullivan to run as a tactical move to mislead voters and reduce the incumbent’s chances, thereby helping Peltola. The Justice Department confirmed a criminal investigation into alleged voter deception in Alaska, but no evidence has been made public. The New York Times reported that allies of Peltola had long before the election searched for a namesake of the incumbent; Peltola’s team denies any involvement in his candidacy.
Sources: Süddeutsche Zeitung.