Federal Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Seeking to Block Alaska Senate Certification

A federal judge dismissed on November 1 a Justice Department lawsuit that sought to require Alaska election officials to segregate ballots and delay certification of the Senate race if Democratic candidate Mary Peltola defeated Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan.

The ruling removes one procedural obstacle in a contest that has drawn national attention because of a ballot design involving two candidates named Dan Sullivan. The judge rejected the administration's request to condition certification on additional verification steps tied to claims of noncitizen voting.

Separately, U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson ordered the Trump administration to halt a broader pressure campaign against election officials across multiple states. In her Friday ruling she wrote that the administration's actions, while described as efforts to stop unlawful voting by noncitizens, were likely to interfere with election administration and disenfranchise lawful voters.

Alaska's Senate race is among the closer contests in current polling aggregators, with some models showing a narrow Democratic advantage. Peltola, a former member of the House, is challenging Sullivan, who has held the seat since 2015. The dual-name issue on the ballot has required additional voter education by state officials.

The Department of Justice has not indicated whether it will appeal the dismissal. Certification in Alaska is scheduled to proceed under normal state timelines once polls close on November 3, absent further court orders. The pair of rulings limits the scope of federal intervention in the final days before the midterms.

Election administrators in Alaska have stated that standard procedures for provisional ballots and post-election audits remain in place. No evidence of large-scale irregularities has been presented in the dismissed case.