Justice Department seeks delay in Alaska Senate vote certification

The US Justice Department asked a federal judge on Thursday to postpone certification of Alaska’s Senate election results, Al Jazeera reported on Oct. 23, citing a lawsuit filed days before the Nov. 3 midterms.

The case matters because control of the US Senate after Nov. 3 could depend on Alaska, where Public Policy Polling this month put Democrat Mary Peltola 1 percentage point ahead of Republican Senator Dan Sullivan.

In the filing, the department said independent candidate Daniel J Sullivan, who shares the incumbent senator’s name, was running deliberately to mislead voters. The incumbent, Dan Sullivan, is a Republican seeking re-election.

“Given the substantial likelihood that the inclusion of Daniel J Sullivan will confuse or mislead voters looking to cast a vote for Senator Sullivan, and thus distort the will of Alaskan voters, there is a substantial likelihood that a certification of the election will reflect an electoral process that lacked integrity,” the administration’s filing read.

The Justice Department asked the court to pause certification so officials can investigate “whether votes cast for Daniel J Sullivan were meant to be cast for Senator Sullivan”. A Justice Department spokesperson did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.

President Donald Trump took credit for the lawsuit during a Friday visit to Fort Myers, Florida. “I’m the one that said ‘do it,'” he told reporters when asked about the case.

The intervention comes after Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters on Wednesday that the department would not improperly involve itself in elections or state certification. “It is not DOJ’s intention to – and it’s never our intention to – improperly interfere with elections or the state certification process,” Blanche said.

Democrats and voting rights groups have raised concern that the administration may try to affect races in the midterm cycle. Al Jazeera also cited recent Justice Department actions involving Virginia state Senator L Louise Lucas and Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar; both have said the actions against them are politically motivated.

Lauren Miller Karalunas, senior counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice, said in a statement that election certification is a state function and that the federal government has “no role” in it. She said state processes were designed with safeguards against manipulation.

Alaska’s state Supreme Court in June rejected an earlier Republican attempt to remove Daniel J Sullivan from the ballot. He is listed without a party label, while Senator Sullivan appears as the Republican candidate.

Alaska uses ranked-choice voting, a system that lets voters rank more than one candidate. Al Jazeera reported that voters who are uncertain can select both Sullivans on their ballots.

The campaigns for Senator Sullivan, Daniel J Sullivan and Peltola did not immediately return requests for comment. The next fixed political test is the Nov. 3 midterm election.

Source: lawsuit filing reported by Al Jazeera, Oct. 23, 2026