Democrats, voting rights groups challenge attempt to block Alaska certification

Democratic groups and voting rights advocates are seeking to join a federal lawsuit seeking to block the Justice Department from blocking Alaska from certifying its U.S. Senate election results if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses.

The requests come from Alaskans for Mary, the campaign for Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola, the Democratic Party Senate Campaign Committee and a separate group including the League of Women Voters of Alaska, Common Cause and two individual voters.

Together, the groups argue that the executive branch lacks the legal authority to intervene in state-run elections and is attempting to circumvent the state’s election administration with early voting already underway.

In court filings submitted Friday, the groups say the litigation — which President Donald Trump has confirmed he personally ordered — seeks an extraordinary remedy: an investigation into whether voters who chose another candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan actually intended to vote for the incumbent senator.

Trump told reporters Friday that he had ordered the Justice Department to take legal action: “I’m the one who said ‘do it.’

The move drew swift bipartisan backlash, including from Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who said on social media, “The Department of Justice should never have filed this lawsuit.”

The legal battle centers on Daniel J. Sullivan, a nonincumbent challenger sharing a nearly identical name with incumbent GOP Sen. Daniel S. Sullivan. Alaska election officials initially removed the candidate from the ballot after a complaint from the state Republican Party, but state courts ordered him to be placed on the ballot.

In June, the Alaska Supreme Court upheld that decision and ordered election officials to clearly distinguish between the two men.

The ballot now lists Senator Sullivan as “incumbent” and Republican, while the other Sullivan has no party registration.

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit Oct. 22, seeking an order preventing Alaska from certifying the Senate election if the incumbent president loses.

The proposed commenters say the department’s approach would force Alaska voters to choose between electing the president’s preferred candidate and risking the state being barred from certifying its election results.

Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee argue that the lawsuit directly threatens their interests because it could prevent Peltola from taking office even if she wins the election under Alaska’s ranked choice system.

They also question whether Alaska state officials will mount a vigorous enough defense, given that the state Division of Elections already tried to exclude Daniel J. Sullivan from the ballot before a state court overturned that decision.

The DSCC and Alaskans for Mary are asking the court to grant them defendant-intervenor status so they can formally file motions to dismiss the lawsuit.

Democrats argue that although the DOJ cited the National Voter Registration Act as the legal basis for its lawsuit, the law contains no provision authorizing the federal government to dictate candidate eligibility or ballot configuration, which falls under the state Constitution.

Legal experts echoed these concerns, noting that relying on the general language of the NVRA preamble to end certification of national elections lacks precedent.

The League of Women Voters of Alaska and Common Cause filed separately, warning that the DOJ’s request to investigate voter intent poses serious constitutional risks.

The documents indicate that the DOJ offered no mechanism to determine whether voters who chose Daniel J. Sullivan intended to vote for the incumbent president.

The groups say blocking certification would disenfranchise Alaskans by denying them representation and sowing chaos in the election outcome.

Both organizations are asking the court for permission to join the case as defendants. The Democratic groups say they intend to seek dismissal if the court grants their request.