Judge Throws Out DOJ's Alaska Election Lawsuit, Then the Department Appeals Within the Hour

A federal judge on Sunday, November 1, dismissed the Justice Department's lawsuit seeking to block Alaska from certifying its Senate election if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan lost by fewer votes than were cast for another candidate named Daniel Sullivan. U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason ruled two days before Election Day that the federal government lacked a workable legal remedy.

The Justice Department, which sued Alaska on October 22, argued that retired teacher Daniel J. Sullivan's presence on the ballot could confuse voters backing incumbent Dan S. Sullivan, and asked the court to segregate ballots cast for the second Sullivan so federal investigators could examine voters' intent. Alaska's Supreme Court had already allowed both names on the ballot.

Gleason rejected that proposal, writing that the federal 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.' She found the government had not established redressability, a constitutional requirement for standing, because ballots cannot be traced to individual voters without breaking ballot secrecy.

The ruling does not decide who will win Alaska's Senate race between Sullivan and Democrat Mary Peltola, nor does it resolve allegations about how the second Sullivan came to be on the ballot. It removes the immediate district-court obstacle to normal certification, while leaving the underlying political contest to voters.

The Justice Department immediately filed notice of appeal, according to USA Today, with Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward and U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman acting within about an hour of the 20-page ruling. Any appellate action now runs alongside Tuesday's vote and the subsequent count.