US President Donald Trump has failed in an unusual attempt to block the outcome of Alaska's Senate election in the event that Republicans lose. Federal Judge Sharon Gleason on Sunday dismissed a lawsuit in which the Justice Department sought to prevent certification of the result if the Democratic candidate, Mary Peltola, were to win.
The case centered on the presence of two candidates named Sullivan on Alaska's ballot for Tuesday's congressional elections: the incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan and a previously little-known namesake, Dan J. Sullivan. Trump and his administration argued that the shared name could confuse voters, who might accidentally cast their ballot for the other Sullivan instead of the sitting senator, potentially benefiting Peltola.
Ten days earlier, the Justice Department had filed a preventive request asking that the result not be certified if the Democrat won, and that authorities instead examine how many voters had mistakenly given their vote to the wrong Sullivan. Gleason said on Sunday that the demand could not be implemented, adding that it would itself confuse voters and could lead eligible people to stay away from the polls.
The New York Times reported shortly before the ruling that Democrats had deliberately recruited the second Sullivan in order to damage the incumbent senator. Trump subsequently described the situation as "voter fraud" and called for Peltola and the second Sullivan to be excluded. Peltola rejects the allegations.
In Tuesday's congressional elections, Democrats are hoping to take the majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives from Trump's Republicans. The race for the Senate majority is expected to be particularly close, which gives the vote in Alaska considerable weight. Only around 740,000 people live in the vast state in the northwest of the country.
Sources: Der Spiegel.