Justice Department Sues to Block Alaska's Senate Certification if Sullivan Loses. Let Alaska Count Its Own Votes.
The Justice Department wants a federal court to block certification of Alaska's Senate race if Sen. Dan Sullivan loses and a same-name candidate's votes could have changed the result.
The facts come first below. My opinion follows in the section marked as opinion.
Nine days before Election Day, the Justice Department has asked a federal court to stop Alaska from certifying its U.S. Senate race under one narrow set of conditions. If Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses, and if the votes cast for a second candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. would have changed the result, the department wants certification blocked, NBC News reported.
The suit was filed Thursday, Oct. 22. President Donald Trump told reporters Friday that he ordered it. "I'm the one that said do it," he said, according to NBC News.
Two men with the same name
The incumbent, Daniel S. Sullivan, faces Democrat Mary Peltola. The other man, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., is a former teacher. In the August all-party primary he finished third with 2.5% of the vote. Peltola took 49.5% and Sen. Sullivan 41.4%, NBC News reported.
Alaska election officials removed the newcomer from the ballot in June. They found his candidacy was not in "good faith," pointing to his choice to run as Dan instead of Daniel and to his new Republican label, NBC News reported. State courts put him back on. CNBC reported that the Alaska Supreme Court affirmed that decision in June and directed officials to clearly distinguish the two men. The ballot now lists the senator as the incumbent and a Republican, while the other Sullivan has no party registration.
The candidate has denied running a sham campaign. "I have every right to run for whatever office I'm qualified for, and I'm qualified for this office," he told The Associated Press in June, as quoted by NBC News.
What the government is asking for
The department's filing argues that "some supporters of Senator Sullivan likely will inadvertently vote for Daniel J. Sullivan," and that it is "vital that Defendants not certify any election result that may be impacted by voter confusion," according to NBC News. A department spokesperson said the action is "consistent with the National Voter Registration Act enacted by Congress."
That same day, Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters, "I'm not trying to not have an election certified. Of course not," NBC News reported.
The pushback
The objections came from both parties. Alaska's other Republican senator, Lisa Murkowski, wrote, "The Department of Justice should never have filed this lawsuit," CNBC reported. Peltola called the move "the corruption AK is fed up with," according to NBC News.
On Friday, Peltola's campaign, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the League of Women Voters of Alaska, Common Cause and two voters asked to join the case as defendants, CNBC reported. They argue that the voter registration law contains no provision letting Washington dictate candidate eligibility or ballot layout. They also say the department has offered no way to tell whether a voter who chose the second Sullivan meant to choose the first.
Alaska's Division of Elections said it is reviewing the complaint and is "focused on running the ongoing election," NBC News reported. Early voting is already underway, CNBC noted.
Opinion: Alaska should count its own votes
I have no sympathy for ballot tricks. Alaska's own election officials looked at this candidacy and concluded it was not offered in good faith. If someone recruited a man to run under a famous name to siphon votes, that is a lie told to voters, and Scripture is plain about it: "Lying lips are abomination to the LORD." Prosecutors should follow the evidence wherever it goes. Still, no court has found a conspiracy, and the second Sullivan is entitled to the same presumption of honesty any of us would want.
But this lawsuit is the wrong remedy, filed by the wrong party, at the wrong time. Conservatives have spent decades arguing that states run elections and Washington should keep its hands off. That principle does not change because our side might lose a seat. Alaska already did its job. Its courts heard the challenge. Its Supreme Court ordered the ballot to mark the incumbent clearly, and the ballot does.
The numbers matter here too. The second Sullivan drew 2.5% in August. The senator trailed Peltola by about eight points in the same primary. Neither number proves anything about November, but together they show the problem with the department's theory. It asks a judge to assume that every one of those voters meant someone else, and then to hold up the result on that assumption. No court should count votes by guessing at what voters meant.
Imagine a Democratic administration suing to freeze a Republican win on that same theory. Every conservative in America would call it what it is. Murkowski, no friend of Peltola's party, saw it plainly. If you want to help Sen. Sullivan, make the case to Alaska voters and trust them to read their ballots. Pray for honest elections, as some clergy will do outside the polls this year. The Clergy to Serve as Poll Chaplains in Nine States on Election Day story is a reminder that peace at the polls depends on trust. Then accept the count.
