Judge rules 0-1 against Trump bid to freeze Alaska Senate tally

Alaska voters will see their ballots counted and certified according to standard state procedures, ending a federal legal bid that threatened to pause the official results of the state’s Senate race. U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason issued a ruling on Sunday that rejected the Trump administration’s request to block the certification of the election outcome if incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses.

The Justice Department had argued that the National Voter Registration Act gave the federal government the authority to intervene. The lawsuit sought to stop state officials from certifying the results to allow for an investigation into voter confusion. The core issue on the ballot involved two candidates with nearly identical names: Sen. Dan Sullivan and independent candidate Daniel Sullivan Jr. The government requested a court order to halt the certification process while they examined whether the similar names misled voters.

Judge Gleason, a nominee of former President Barack Obama, found that the federal government lacked standing to bring the suit. She determined that granting the requested relief would likely violate the constitutional right of Alaskan voters to a secret ballot. Gleason noted that the United States failed to explain how its remedy would fix its alleged injury while preserving ballot secrecy. She wrote that the absence of this explanation was telling.

The Justice Department plans to appeal the decision. Spokesperson Kiersten Pels stated that Alaskan voters deserve a fair election and should not be misled in an attempt to rig outcomes. Voting rights groups that joined the defense of the state’s election process praised the ruling. Sophia Lin Lakin, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, described the Justice Department’s attempt to throw out results before counting began as lawless and a reckless waste of taxpayer money.

President Trump said he ordered the lawsuit because of the presence of the two similarly named candidates on the four-person ballot. Earlier in the year, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that Daniel Sullivan Jr. had the right to remain on the ballot, rejecting a state court effort by the Alaska Republican Party to remove him. Republican claims that Democrats propped up the independent candidate to spoil the incumbent’s chances have persisted throughout the campaign.

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy has ordered a state-level investigation and indicated that certification may depend on its findings. He told NewsNation on Oct. 30 that if wrongdoing is found, the certification might stop or change. U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman confirmed an ongoing criminal probe by the Justice Department during an Oct. 30 press conference in Anchorage. Democratic candidate Mary Peltola has denied involvement in the recruiting efforts.

More than 86,700 Alaskans cast ballots during early voting, according to the Division of Elections. Voting continues through Tuesday’s Election Day. Incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan said in a Sunday interview with CNN that he will accept the results, win or lose.