DOJ sues to block Alaska Senate certification if Sullivan loses

The Trump administration is suing to prevent the Alaska Senate election from being certified if Republican Sen. Daniel Sullivan loses to Democrat Mary Peltola because of the other Dan Sullivan who is on the ballot.

Alaskans will choose their senator in a ranked-choice contest with four candidates on the ballot: Sen. Dan Sullivan, Peltola, Gerald Heikes, and a teacher named Daniel J. Sullivan. 

The Justice Department argues that if Sen. Sullivan were to lose because of votes unintentionally cast for the Daniel J. Sullivan instead of the senator, the election should not be considered valid. 

The government alleges that candidate Daniel J. Sullivan deliberately sought to confuse voters by running with the same ballot name and party affiliation as the incumbent senator. It argues that he is potentially diverting votes and Peltola stands to benefit.

In its court filing Friday, the Justice Department argued that allowing Daniel J. Sullivan to be on the ballot "threatens to mislead Alaskan citizens who want to vote for Senator Sullivan" and said that some of his supporters "likely will inadvertently vote for Daniel J. Sullivan." 

Further, the senator's other supporters "likely will be confused as to how to rank the three Republican candidates as to defeat Peltola" and "might not rank Senator Sullivan at all." 

Peltola's campaign spokesperson, Harry Child, told CBS News in a statement that the effort was "a despicable political threat to overturn an election." 

"We will fight to ensure every single eligible voter in Alaska can make their voice heard and that no bureaucrat or politician from the Lower 48 can interfere with our lawful, secure elections," Child said. 

A sample ballot included in the Justice Department's filing shows how the two Sullivans would be listed: Daniel J. Sullivan appears first, as "Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr.," with no party affiliation, while Sen. Sullivan appears next, as "Sullivan, Dan S. (Registered Republican) Incumbent."

In June, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that Daniel J. Sullivan could remain on the ballot, upholding a ruling from a lower court. The state courts reversed the decision by the state Division of Elections that Daniel J. Sullivan was ineligible because he was allegedly trying to "cause voter confusion."

Daniel J. Sullivan's lawyers argued the state "lacked any basis in Alaska law to exclude Mr. Sullivan from the ballot" and didn't have the power to look into his "private motivations." They said that state law doesn't give officials the power to keep qualified candidates off the ballot due to potential confusion.

If Sen. Sullivan loses in November but would have won had the other Sullivan's votes been counted for him, the Justice Department would ask for an investigation, according to its complaint.

A Justice Department spokesperson said that the DOJ filed the complaint "to ensure that this frivolous candidacy does not undermine the integrity of Alaska's election or the will of its voters." 

The department says that Daniel J. Sullivan's candidacy constitutes a violation of the National Voter Registration Act, which was enacted to make the voter registration process more accessible.