President Donald Trump greets Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, at a campaign rally at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center on Oct. 13 in Wasilla. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson) The Trump administration’s Justice Department sued Thursday to block Alaska officials from certifying the results of the U.S. Senate race if Sen. Dan S. Sullivan loses his reelection bid, and calls for an investigation into whether votes cast by a rival of the same name were intended for the incumbent. Lawyers and legislators have criticized the measure, calling it legally unfounded and a political maneuver. With early voting already underway in the Nov. 3 general election, the lawsuit could create a legal hurdle if former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola defeats the Republican senator in the closely watched race. The race for Alaska’s Senate seat is considered one of the few battleground races that could determine whether Democrats flip control of the chamber. The lawsuit alleges that the presence on the ballot of retired Petersburg educator Dan J. Sullivan, a Republican who shares the same first and last name as the incumbent, “threatens to mislead Alaskans who want to vote for Senator Sullivan.” Peltola finished eight points ahead of incumbent Sullivan in the primary, earning 49.5% of the vote compared to Sullivan’s 41.4%. Polls prior to the general elections indicate that the contest between the two favorites could be a head-to-head contest. Petersburg Sullivan received 2.5% of the vote in the primary. Republican President Donald Trump told reporters Friday morning that he had ordered the Justice Department to drop the case. While Peltola’s campaign accused Sullivan of engineering the lawsuit as a last-ditch effort to sway the results in his favor, Sullivan’s campaign said they had “no prior knowledge of this lawsuit or any role in it.” Scott Kendall, an Anchorage attorney who has supported Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system, among other election-related issues, said on social media: “If a first-year law student handed this to me, I would give him a D-.” The lawsuit claims that if Senator Sullivan were to lose the general election and “if all votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan had been cast instead of Senator Sullivan and Alaska’s ranked-choice process had proceeded accordingly, Senator Sullivan would have won the election,” that the Alaska Division of Elections should not certify the election results “pending an investigation to determine whether votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan were intended to be cast for Senator Sullivan.” Alaska’s other senator, Republican Lisa Murkowski, condemned the move in a statement Friday afternoon. “Alaskans do not need any help voting for their preferred candidates, and the state of Alaska has already taken care of this by clearly distinguishing the candidates on this year’s ballot. The Department of Justice should never have filed this lawsuit,” Murkowski said. It has already been upheld in state courts whether the Petersburg Sullivan should be allowed to appear on the ballot. The Alaska Supreme Court ruled that Dan J. Sullivan is eligible to appear on the ballot, rejecting an appeal from the director of the state Division of Elections, who previously declared that the eponymous challenger filed his candidacy “for the purpose of confusing or deceiving.” Petersburg Sullivan has maintained that he is running for the seat because he believes the incumbent has not done a good job serving Alaskans or representing their interests. Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher and Republican candidate for the United States Senate, poses for a photo outside his home in Petersburg on September 22. (Photo by Loren Holmes) The Division of Elections determined how candidates would appear on the ballot. The headline is listed as “Sullivan, Dan S.” labeled “Incumbent (registered Republican).” His eponymous challenger is listed as “Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr.,” with no party affiliation labeled. The lawsuit will be assigned to a federal judge in Alaska, who will decide how to proceed with the case. The lawsuit names Alaska Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher, in her official capacity, as a defendant, as well as the state’s election review and vote recount boards. The lawsuit forces the state of Alaska, which previously argued that Petersburg Sullivan’s candidacy was not in good faith, to choose whether to defend the federal government’s calls not to certify the election results if Senator Dan S. Sullivan does not prevail. State Department of Law spokesman Sam Curtis said in a statement Friday that “the Division of Elections and the Department of Law are focused on conducting the ongoing elections and giving voters confidence that their votes will count. This also includes assisting voters and avoiding voter confusion, whether through providing information in the official election pamphlet, asking questions of a poll worker, or bringing in others to assist with voting as permitted by law. “The complaint is being reviewed and we have no information. “No comment on the litigation,” Curtis said in the statement. The Petersburg Sullivan said in a text message Friday that he had “no comment at this time.” The filing was one of “the most frivolous lawsuits” he has ever seen. “The Department of Justice, which is supposed to represent all Americans, all of us, filing a lawsuit less than two weeks before Election Day, trying to block election results that haven’t even happened yet, is crazy, and reflects this administration’s overall approach to the midterms. “The expression of a voter’s intent is the ballot itself. So you can’t go back, look at a ballot, and decide whether the voter intended to do something else.” During his campaign visit to Alaska to defend Senator Sullivan last week, President Donald Trump called Dan J. Sullivan a fake candidate supported by Democrats to confuse voters. Sen. Dan Sullivan speaks at a rally for Republicans led by President Donald Trump at the Menard Memorial Sports Complex in Wasilla on Oct. 13. (Bill Roth/ADN) Trump has repeatedly criticized the challenger on social media. Earlier this week, he wrote that his administration was “pursuing powerful legal options to remove the fraudulent Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. from the ballot.” He told reporters Friday that the lawsuit was filed following his directives. “I was the one who said do it,” Trump said. Campaigns respond A spokesman for Sullivan, Nate Adams, said the campaign played no role in the lawsuit and that Peltola’s claims that Sullivan was involved were “categorically false.” “We will let the Justice Department’s complaint take its course. Alaskans can tell the difference between a Democratic sideshow and Senator Sullivan’s strong record of delivering for Alaska, a record he will continue to build over the next six years,” Adams said. Peltola took the opportunity to criticize his opponent and his support for Trump on Friday afternoon. “I feel very strongly that it is interfering and very corrupt,” Peltola told reporters at the Alaska Federation of Natives’ annual convention. “This is exactly the kind of corruption that Alaskans are tired of, and you know, I think this is a perfect example, 11 days before the election, of corruption and desperation, honestly, and a complete lack of respect for Alaskans and their vote, and Alaskans’ desire to talk about affordability, and how crushed we are by these prices because of the 14 times Dan Sullivan has voted for this war in Iran.” Mary Peltola speaks with Alaska Public Media staff before the start of the State Debate against her Senate opponent Dan Sullivan, left, in Anchorage on October 15. (Marc Lester/ADN) Eric Croft, chairman of the Alaska Democratic Party, echoed the Peltola campaign’s response. “Dan Sullivan is afraid of losing and so he will pursue any corrupt and desperate means to win. But let’s be clear: Alaskan voters decide elections in Alaska. Not politicians, not anyone in the lower 48 states. Every vote will be counted, and Alaskans will make their voices heard at the polls in a free and fair election,” Croft said. On Friday afternoon, Alaska Republican Party Chairwoman Carmela Warfield issued a statement praising the Trump administration for filing the lawsuit. “Ranked-choice voting has already unnecessarily complicated Alaska’s elections,” Warfield said. “A candidacy that relies on voter confusion only makes the problem worse and highlights the Alaska Senate race. The Division of Elections plans to release initial tabulated results on Nov. 18. In the weeks between Election Day and the first set of tabulated results, officials will throw out preliminary results showing first-place votes before tabulation of ranked-choice voting is completed. State Rep. Andrew Gray, an Anchorage Democrat who serves as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said he worries that if control of the Senate depends on the Alaska race, the wait for the results could lead to more legal challenges and greater federal scrutiny. “They’re not federally controlled, and really, President Donald Trump’s views on what should or shouldn’t happen in our elections shouldn’t matter,” Gray said. “And I hope the people in charge understand that and deal with it because that’s what it’s going to take.” It’s not something that was caused by Dan J. Sullivan. He had the right to apply. He had the right to apply. He has a right to be on the ballot,” Gray said. Daily News reporters Alex DeMarban and Iris Samuels contributed from Anchorage.
