Judge Dismisses DOJ Lawsuit Over Alaska Senate Ballot Names

U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason dismissed a Justice Department lawsuit on November 1 that sought to prevent Alaska from certifying its U.S. Senate election results if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses. The judge ruled that the United States lacked standing and offered no workable plan that would preserve voter secrecy.

The lawsuit, filed less than two weeks before Election Day, argued that the presence of a second candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired teacher, risked confusing voters. The Department of Justice asked the court to block certification if reallocating votes from Daniel J. Sullivan to the senator would change the ranked-choice outcome, and to investigate those ballots.

Gleason, in a 20-page order, wrote that the United States had failed to establish the redressability prerequisite for Article III standing. She noted that many ballots had already been cast and commingled, making it impossible to segregate those cast for Daniel J. Sullivan without identifying individual voters. "Requiring the segregation of ballots cast by voters for Daniel J. Sullivan so that these voters can be further investigated by law enforcement is not a remedy that this Court can or should order," she wrote, because it would violate the secret ballot.

Alaska uses ranked-choice voting. The ballot lists the incumbent as "Dan S. Sullivan (Registered Republican) Incumbent" and the other candidate as "Daniel J. Sullivan Jr." without a party label. Sullivan Jr. changed his registration from Republican to undeclared before the general election. Democratic nominee Mary Peltola is the main challenger. Senate control is at stake in the national midterms.

State election officials, Peltola's campaign and outside groups had moved to dismiss the case. Gleason denied the Justice Department leave to amend, calling further rewriting futile. The department filed a notice of appeal the same day. A spokesperson said the court dismissed the case on procedural grounds but did not dispute the government's claim that the second Sullivan entered as a frivolous candidate.

Incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan told CNN he would accept the election results whether he wins or loses. Alaska officials have said they have no practical method to determine voter intent after ballots are mixed. Governor Mike Dunleavy ordered a separate criminal investigation into the circumstances of the second candidate's entry.

The ruling removes one potential source of delay in certifying Alaska's results. Ranked-choice tabulation in close races can take days. With early voting already well underway, the practical effect of the lawsuit had been limited even before the dismissal. The appeal will now proceed while counting continues after November 4.

Similar name-confusion arguments have appeared in other races, but courts have generally required a clear, feasible remedy that respects ballot secrecy. Gleason's order emphasizes that constraint. Alaska voters will decide the contest under existing procedures.