Judge throws out Justice Department suit to block Alaska Senate certification if Dan Sullivan loses; DOJ appeals two days before vote
Judge Sharon Gleason dismissed the DOJ bid to delay Alaska's Senate result over two Dan Sullivans on the ballot, saying the plan could not protect ballot secrecy.
At a glance
- US District Judge Sharon Gleason dismissed the Justice Department's lawsuit on Sunday, November 1, finding the government lacked legal standing.
- The suit sought to delay certification and set aside ballots for a second candidate named Dan Sullivan if Republican Senator Dan Sullivan lost to Democrat Mary Peltola.
- Gleason's 20-page ruling said the government offered no workable plan to investigate those ballots while keeping the vote secret.
- The department quickly filed notice of appeal to the 9th Circuit. Separate criminal and state investigations into the second Sullivan's candidacy continue.
A federal judge on Sunday, November 1, 2026, dismissed the Justice Department's lawsuit seeking to hold up certification of Alaska's US Senate race if Republican Senator Dan Sullivan loses. The department immediately said it would appeal, leaving the case open just two days before Tuesday's election.
US District Judge Sharon Gleason ruled in Anchorage that the government had failed to establish legal standing. She did not decide whether a second candidate on the ballot, also named Dan Sullivan, was recruited to confuse voters.
What the lawsuit asked for, and what the judge said
President Donald Trump ordered the suit on October 22. It targeted the presence of Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired schoolteacher, on the same ballot as the incumbent. The department wanted Alaska to set aside ballots cast for him and to bar the state from certifying anyone but the senator as winner until an investigation into voter intent was complete.
Gleason's 20-page decision rejected that plan on practical grounds. Early voting is already under way, and ballots already cast have been mixed together in a way that prevents officials from linking them to individual voters. The government, she wrote, had offered "no workable plan" for investigating those votes while preserving ballot secrecy.
She also cited the Supreme Court's Purcell principle, which cautions courts against changing election rules close to polling day. The department argued it was not trying to alter how the election runs. Gleason pointed out that it was asking for an order stopping certification, an order to separate ballots and permission to investigate voters' intent.
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| Court | US District Court, Anchorage |
| Judge | Sharon Gleason |
| Ruling | Dismissed; government lacked standing |
| Refiling | Without prejudice, but leave to amend denied as futile |
| Next step | Appeal to the 9th Circuit |
| Election day | Tuesday, November 3 |
What each side is saying
Mary Peltola's campaign, which along with state election officials and outside groups asked for dismissal, welcomed the ruling. In a statement it called the case a "baseless lawsuit" from a weaponised Justice Department and said Alaskans would choose their own senator.
The campaign has been accused of encouraging Daniel J. Sullivan to run. Supporters of the senator say having two people with the same name on the ballot could cost him votes in a tight race. Peltola's campaign rejects the case against it, and the department has said only that it intends to fight the ruling on appeal. Alaska's elections director, Carol Beecher, had argued in her own motion that the complaint had no legal basis.
Why one Senate seat matters so much
Republicans hold a narrow Senate majority, and Alaska is one of a handful of contests that could decide who controls the chamber. Polls have shown a close race. The state's ranked-choice system adds another layer: neither Daniel J. Sullivan nor the fourth candidate, Gerald Heikes, is considered a contender, but voters who rank them first could still swing the outcome through their second choices.
Certification disputes also carry weight beyond Alaska. Had the suit succeeded, it would have allowed the federal government to hold up a state's result pending a review of how individual voters meant to mark their ballots, which is why voting rights groups and the state both fought it.
Investigations that continue after the ruling
The dismissal does not end scrutiny of the second Sullivan's candidacy. The US Attorney for Alaska said on Friday that criminal and civil investigations were continuing. Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy has ordered a state probe, and a House Oversight Committee inquiry is also open.
Voting goes ahead on Tuesday under the existing rules unless an appeals court intervenes. The 9th Circuit is now the place to watch, and any ruling there would need to come quickly. Alaska's ranked-choice count usually takes days to complete after polls close, so the seat may not be settled on election night.
