| DOJ asked for | Judge Gleason's answer |
|---|
| Bar certification if Sen. Sullivan loses by less than Sullivan Jr.'s total | Dismissed; injury not redressable by a court |
| Segregate and preserve ballots marked for Sullivan Jr. | Ballots are commingled; "no workable plan" |
| Investigate what those voters intended | Would threaten ballot secrecy and deter voting |
| Relief under the NVRA and Supremacy Clause | Not reached; case dismissed on standing |
","layout":"text"},{"role":"body","format":"markdown","text":"## The Trump, DOJ and Sullivan-campaign position\n\n[President Trump](https://567politics.com/politicians/donald-trump) has treated the second candidacy as fraud. On October 28 he posted on Truth Social that \"the Democrats in Alaska illegally searched for, and recruited, a man named Dan Sullivan\" to \"defraud, confuse, and obfuscate the Election, thereby taking votes away from the REAL Senator, Dan Sullivan.\" The post is at [truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117520106264955050](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117520106264955050), as reported by [Breitbart](https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/10/28/trump-democrats-fake-alaska-senate-candidate-scheme-a-fraud-on-the-american-public/). He added that Democrats \"perjured themselves\" in court filings and that \"Mary Peltola should suffer the Legal and Political consequences,\" per [Newsweek](https://www.newsweek.com/alaskas-two-dan-sullivans-controversy-just-got-more-complicated-12631913). On Tuesday he said on Fox & Friends that lawyer Marc Elias \"should go to jail, in my opinion,\" per the [Inquirer](https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/alaska-senate-race-doj-target-letters-democrats-inquiry-peltola-sullivan-20261103.html).\n\nU.S. Attorney Michael Heyman said on October 30 that the Times report caused a \"significant surge of law enforcement assets to Alaska.\" \"We are acting on it intensely and swiftly,\" he said, per the [Daily Independent](https://www.yourvalley.net/stories/top-federal-prosecutor-in-alaska-says-criminal-probe-underway-over-would-be-spoiler-senate,736472). He named no statute.\n\n[Sen. Sullivan](https://567politics.com/politicians/dan-sullivan) kept some distance from the lawsuit. Spokesman Nate Adams said in October, \"We'll let the DOJ complaint run its course,\" per [OPB](https://www.opb.org/article/2026/10/23/trump-says-he-ordered-the-justice-department-s-lawsuit-over-alaska-s-us-senate-race/). After the Times report, Adams said Peltola had spent \"months gaslighting Alaskans,\" per [Newsweek](https://www.newsweek.com/alaskas-two-dan-sullivans-controversy-just-got-more-complicated-12631913). On CNN on Sunday the senator said, \"I'm going to accept the election results,\" and of Peltola, \"There is no way this went on for a year that they weren't informing her,\" per [Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/11/1/sullivan-vows-to-honour-alaska-race-outcome-us-judge-dismisses-doj-lawsuit). The NRSC has called him \"Fraud Sullivan\" since June, \"a Democrat planted by Mary Peltola and Chuck Schumer,\" per the [NRSC](https://www.nrsc.org/?p=16294).\n\n## The Peltola and Democratic position\n\nPeltola denies knowing about any recruitment. \"I knew nothing about any other candidates on the ballot except for me and the incumbent,\" she said on October 29. \"I am not interested in tricking voters,\" per [Alaska Public Media](https://alaskapublic.org/news/politics/elections/2026-10-30/mary-peltola-denies-ballot-stacking-allegations-at-juneau-campaign-rally). Asked whether someone on her staff could have been involved, she told KTUU, \"I honestly have no idea,\" per [Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/11/1/sullivan-vows-to-honour-alaska-race-outcome-us-judge-dismisses-doj-lawsuit). Her campaign's written line is that it \"has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign,\" per [CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/judge-doj-lawsuit-alaska-senate-race-dan-sullivan/).\n\nOn the lawsuit, Peltola called it \"a complete lack of respect for Alaskans and their vote.\" Her campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee moved to intervene on October 23, arguing that the NVRA \"exclusively regulates voter registration\" and that \"Nothing in the NVRA regulates which candidates are listed on ballots or how they are displayed,\" per [Alaska Public Media](https://alaskapublic.org/news/politics/2026-10-24/peltola-democratic-party-move-to-intervene-in-doj-election-lawsuit). DSCC executive director Devan Barber called it a \"sham lawsuit to overturn the will of Alaska voters,\" per [OPB](https://www.opb.org/article/2026/10/23/trump-says-he-ordered-the-justice-department-s-lawsuit-over-alaska-s-us-senate-race/).\n\nThe Times account, as summarized by [Newsweek](https://www.newsweek.com/alaskas-two-dan-sullivans-controversy-just-got-more-complicated-12631913), described an effort that began in 2025 to list Alaskans named Dan Sullivan; former Peltola campaign manager Elisa Rios was a source. Democrats say recruiting candidates, or \"ballot stacking,\" is common and \"not clearly illegal under state law,\" per the [Inquirer](https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/alaska-senate-race-doj-target-letters-democrats-inquiry-peltola-sullivan-20261103.html). After the Times reported Tuesday that about 20 Democrats, including Elias and at least one DSCC official, had received letters saying they might be targets, Elias posted, \"This is not normal and yet here we are.\" We could not find an Alaska Democratic Party statement.\n\n## The state's position\n\nThe State of Alaska, through the Department of Law, opposed the federal suit. Its motion called the complaint \"half-baked\" and said pulling ballots aside was \"not even possible,\" since ballots carry no names and are mixed in the box, per [Alaska Public Media](https://alaskapublic.org/news/politics/elections/2026-11-01/judge-tosses-doj-lawsuit-that-sought-to-block-election-results-if-republican-sen-dan-sullivan-loses). \"If any voter remains confused, Alaska law allows voters to receive assistance from others,\" the state wrote, per [Alaska Public Media](https://alaskapublic.org/news/politics/elections/2026-10-27/state-of-alaska-says-doj-lawsuit-over-senate-race-has-no-legal-basis).\n\nGov. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, [ordered a state criminal probe](https://567politics.com/news/alaska-senate-doj-subpoenas-dunleavy-certification-october-2026) on October 28. \"We're going to ensure that we aren't going to send a scam to Washington,\" he told NewsNation, per [Newsweek](https://www.newsweek.com/dan-sullivan-alaska-mary-peltola-election-ballot-certification-12642522). Under Alaska Statute 15.15.450, the Division director, not the governor, certifies results; the governor later signs the senator-elect's credentials, a step law professor Jeff Feldman called typically \"a ministerial act.\" The target certification date is November 25. Ranked-choice tabulation is set for November 18, and ballots postmarked by November 3 keep arriving for days, per [Alaska Public Media](https://alaskapublic.org/news/politics/elections/2026-10-05/what-to-know-about-alaskas-general-election). Nationwide closing times and mail deadlines are in our [Election Day guide](https://567politics.com/news/election-day-early-vote-final-totals-poll-closing-times-mail-ballot-deadlines-november-2026).\n\n## What election-law experts and civil-liberties groups say\n\nLegal scholars across the spectrum doubted the suit. \"The statute simply doesn't let the Department of Justice enjoin certification,\" Notre Dame law professor Derek Muller said, per [OPB](https://www.opb.org/article/2026/10/23/trump-says-he-ordered-the-justice-department-s-lawsuit-over-alaska-s-us-senate-race/). Former Republican state Senate president Rick Halford said, \"I think it's pretty well established law that states are in charge of their elections, not the federal government,\" per [Alaska Public Media](https://alaskapublic.org/news/politics/elections/2026-10-23/alaskans-legal-experts-condemn-federal-lawsuit-as-attempt-to-invalidate-the-vote-in-u-s-senate-race).\n\nSen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, wrote that \"The Department of Justice should have never filed this lawsuit,\" per [KATU](https://katu.com/news/nation-world/alaskas-republican-lisa-murkowski-knocks-doj-for-suing-against-senate-election-results-president-trump-administration-dan-sullivan-mary-peltola-midterms). The ACLU, ACLU of Alaska, League of Women Voters of Alaska and Common Cause sought to join the case against the government, per [Alaska Public Media](https://alaskapublic.org/news/politics/2026-10-24/peltola-democratic-party-move-to-intervene-in-doj-election-lawsuit). On the criminal side, Norman Eisen said, \"The criminal process is being abused for political purposes — if there was any doubt, just look at the timing,\" per the [Inquirer](https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/alaska-senate-race-doj-target-letters-democrats-inquiry-peltola-sullivan-20261103.html).\n\n## Precedent: same-name candidates elsewhere\n\nIn Florida's 2020 Senate District 37 race, a no-party candidate named Alex Rodriguez drew more than 6,000 votes against Democratic incumbent José Javier Rodríguez, who lost by 32 votes. Former Republican state Sen. Frank Artiles was convicted in September 2024 of three felonies for paying Rodriguez $44,000 and was sentenced to 60 days in jail, per [WUSF](https://www.wusf.org/politics-issues/2024-11-19/former-gop-lawmaker-artiles-sentenced-two-months-ghost-candidate-case). The judge there noted that running a ghost candidate was not itself illegal; the crime was in the payments. No such payment has been alleged publicly in Alaska.\n\n## The final polls\n\nOur earlier report on the [final Siena poll of Alaska](https://567politics.com/news/alaska-senate-peltola-sullivan-final-siena-poll-governor-november-2026) has more on the governor's race and the ranked-choice rounds.","textStyle":"body","layout":"text"},{"role":"htmltable","html":"