DOJ Sues to Halt Alaska Senate Certification

The Department of Justice filed a federal lawsuit late last week to block the certification of the Alaska U.S. Senate race. The suit seeks a court order to hold up the declaration of a potential Democratic victory until authorities determine if voters were confused by two candidates sharing the same name on the ballot. President Donald Trump directed the department to take this action, marking the first time since the Civil Rights era that the federal government has sued to stop a state from certifying an election.

The conflict centers on a New York Times report stating that the campaign of Democratic candidate Mary Peltola helped recruit a third candidate named Dan Sullivan. This strategy aimed to siphon votes from the Republican incumbent, also named Dan Sullivan. Following the lawsuit, Trump called for the prosecution of Peltola, a former congresswoman. He told reporters that he personally pushed for the legal action, stating, "I'm the one that said do it."

This legal challenge follows a pattern of executive action surrounding the 2026 midterm elections. Earlier this week, the president announced a $1 million bounty for evidence of voter fraud. The administration has also sued California to block the counting of ballots, alleging the state had 20,000 noncitizens on its rolls. A federal judge rejected those California demands on Wednesday. The Justice Department similarly demanded a halt in Washington, where about 400 voters were at the center of the dispute. Both states argued the federal demands arrived too close to the election date to be fulfilled.

In Georgia, the administration has seized ballots and election records from Fulton County regarding the 2020 presidential vote. A sweeping investigation of that election has not yet produced evidence supporting claims of fraud. Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the Alaska suit on CNN, noting that the department did not want to intervene but felt it had no choice. "We are not doing anything improper," Blanche said.

Republican allies in Alaska have expressed disagreement with the federal move. Senator Dan Sullivan did not confirm his support for the lawsuit. The state's Republican-controlled government filed court papers seeking dismissal. Senator Lisa Murkowski stated that the administration "should never have filed" the suit. Legal experts note that political parties often use extra ballot candidates to pull votes from rivals, a strategy that state courts typically handle.

Derek Muller, a law professor at Notre Dame, described the legal argument in the Alaska case as one of the worst he has seen. He suggested the administration's conduct appears impulsive rather than strategic. Matt Dallek, a political scientist at Georgetown, noted that courts are likely to dismiss most of these charges. He added that the litigation serves to intensify the signal to Trump supporters that the elections are rigged.

Pat McCrory, a former North Carolina governor and member of the conservative group Right Count, expressed confidence in the Constitution as a barrier to executive overreach. He called the document a cement wall protecting the system from anarchy. Brendan Nyhan, a political scientist at Dartmouth, warned that the primary threat involves actions that cannot be undone once taken. The Justice Department has lost more than two dozen cases attempting to obtain detailed voter information from states this year.

Early voting has proceeded with about 35 million Americans casting ballots without notable disruption. This mirrors the 2025 off-year elections in New Jersey and Virginia, where Democrats prepared for interference but the process moved forward without major issues. The administration has not confirmed plans to deploy immigration agents, the FBI, or the military to the polls, though such a possibility has raised concerns among voting rights groups.