Federal judge rejects Trump administration bid to pause Alaska Senate certification

U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason ruled on Sunday that the federal government does not have the legal authority to block the certification of results in the Alaska Senate race. The decision dismisses a lawsuit filed by the Trump administration that sought to stop state officials from certifying the election if incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses. The administration argued that the presence of two candidates with similar names on the ranked-choice ballot confused voters and warranted a pause for investigation.

The government’s legal team cited the preamble of the National Voter Registration Act to support its position. They requested a court order to freeze the certification process while an inquiry examined whether voters were misled by the ballot design. Judge Gleason, who was nominated by former President Barack Obama, rejected this argument. She concluded that stopping the certification would likely infringe upon Alaskan voters' right to a secret ballot. The judge noted that the United States failed to explain how its requested relief would fix the alleged injury while keeping the ballot secret.

"The absence of any explanation from the United States as to how its requested relief could redress its alleged injury while simultaneously maintaining the secrecy of the ballot is telling," Gleason wrote in the ruling.

The Justice Department plans to appeal the decision. Spokesperson Kiersten Pels stated that Alaskan voters deserve a fair election rather than being misled in an attempt to rig outcomes. The suit was ordered by President Trump, who pointed to the similar names of Sen. Dan Sullivan and nonpartisan candidate Daniel Sullivan Jr. as the primary source of potential confusion. Four Senate candidates appear on Alaska's ballot in this contest.

Voting rights groups that intervened to defend the state against the lawsuit welcomed the ruling. Sophia Lin Lakin, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Voting Rights Project, described the Department of Justice's move as lawless. She called the effort a reckless waste of taxpayer money aimed at silencing hundreds of thousands of Alaska voters before a single ballot was counted.

Alaska's Republican Party previously supported an effort in state court to remove Sullivan Jr. from the ballot. The Alaska Supreme Court ruled in June that Sullivan Jr. has the right to run. Republican allegations that Democrats propped up Sullivan Jr. to spoil the incumbent's chances have cast a shadow over the race. A New York Times report regarding Democratic campaign operatives' recruitment of Sullivan Jr. drew new attention to these claims, though NPR has not independently confirmed the report.

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy has ordered an investigation into the race. He indicated that the state may not certify the results depending on how that investigation turns out. Dunleavy said during an Oct. 30 interview with NewsNation that if wrongdoing is found, the certification could be stopped or changed. U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman told reporters at an Oct. 30 press conference in Anchorage that the Justice Department is conducting an ongoing criminal probe.

Democratic candidate and former Rep. Mary Peltola has denied any involvement in the controversy. Incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan told CNN's State of the Union on Sunday that he would accept the election results regardless of the outcome. More than 86,700 voters have cast ballots during early voting, according to the Alaska Division of Elections. Voting continues through Tuesday's Election Day.

The next step in the federal case is the Justice Department's appeal, which will test the lower court's standing decision. State officials will continue processing the election as the governor's investigation proceeds in parallel.