Alaska’s GOP-led government asks court to block DOJ Senate race certification lawsuit

Alaska’s GOP-led government is urging a federal court to dismiss the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lawsuit seeking to bar the state from certifying its midterm election results, according to a Monday court filing.

The DOJ lawsuit , filed last week , claimed the presence of a candidate with the same name as incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan (R) could give Democratic Senate nominee Mary Peltola an unfair advantage in the upcoming election.

In a motion to dismiss , attorneys representing Alaska and the other defendants named in the lawsuit said the state’s elections division “has taken significant steps to distinguish them on the ballot so that voters can easily determine which candidate is which.”

The state’s filing also noted “the United States lacks authority to intervene in state elections at all, much less in support of a favored candidate,” adding “the complaint has no legal basis.”

The Justice Department’s lawsuit, which President Trump said he directed to be filed , claimed the other Dan Sullivan — Republican Daniel J. Sullivan — entered the Senate race “with the intention of misleading” the incumbent senator’s supporters.

“Should Alaska certify any electoral results tainted by the inclusion on the ballot of Daniel J. Sullivan … the State and its officers will fail in its obligation to protect the integrity of its election,” the DOJ’s filing read.

Following the lawsuit, Attorney General Todd Blanche said the department is not trying to stop the certification of Alaska’s election but is instead seeking “to ensure that after Alaskans cast their ballots, they are preserved in a manner so that only Alaska’s governing officials have the information necessary to make a determination as to whether Alaskan voters were confused or mislead.”

A copy of the designed ballot attached to the state’s filing shows the word “incumbent” next to the GOP senator’s name, along with his party affiliation. It does not mention the other Sullivan’s registered Republican status.

It also noted the two candidates’ middle initials to differentiate them; the incumbent senator is listed as “Sullivan, Dan S.” while the other candidate is labeled “Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr.”

Lawyers for Peltola’s campaign also asked the court to dismiss the DOJ lawsuit , calling it “wholly baseless.” Last week, nonprofit watchdog group Common Cause, represented by attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union, also filed a motion to intervene in the legal challenge.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason ordered to expedite the consideration of the case , giving the federal government until 5 p.m. Tuesday to respond to both Peltola’s and Common Cause’s motions.