In win for voters, judge throws out DOJ bid to subvert Alaska election

In a major win for voters, a federal judge Sunday threw out the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) bid to undermine Alaska’s U.S. Senate race through an eleventh-hour lawsuit. 

U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason, appointed by President Barack Obama, dismissed the Justice Department’s bid to stop Alaska from certifying its U.S. Senate election if the GOP candidate loses. The state also cannot be forced to keep and segregate ballots of those who cast a vote for independent candidate Daniel J. Sullivan, Gleason ruled.

“The Court cannot grant the United States the relief it seeks,” Gleason wrote, finding that DOJ failed to explain how its proposed remedy could work while preserving Alaska voters’ right to a secret ballot.

Gleason said DOJ offered “no workable plan” for separating ballots and then investigating whether voters who selected Daniel J. Sullivan actually intended to support incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.

“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,” Gleason wrote, saying it would violate Alaskans’ right to a secret ballot.

The lawsuit was yet another attempt by the Trump administration to interfere in states’ constitutional power to administer elections. Alaska is a key battleground state in determining the control of the U.S. Senate.

The DOJ had argued any votes “impacted by voter confusion” should be set aside because the Republican and independent candidate share a first and last name. However, Alaska uses a ranked-choice voting system that allows voters to rank more than one candidate. To avoid any confusion, the ballot also identifies the candidates’ party and clearly labels Sen. Sullivan as the incumbent.

Gleason also rejected DOJ’s contention that its requested relief would not interfere with Alaska’s election administration.

“These requests certainly involve the time, place, and manner of Alaska’s election, which are the responsibilities of the State, not the executive branch of the federal government,” she wrote.

The state election board, along with Democratic candidate Mary Peltola, Senate Democrats* and voting advocates, had asked the judge to toss out the lawsuit, arguing it failed to state an actionable claim. They argued the government’s claims under the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) were faulty and exceeded the authority granted to the executive branch by Congress.

Gleason dismissed the lawsuit for lack of standing and denied DOJ leave to amend, finding that another rewrite would be futile because the court lacks authority to order ballots segregated for a federal law-enforcement investigation into voters’ intent.

*The Elias Law Group (ELG) represents the Peltola campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in this case. ELG Firm Chair Marc Elias is the founder of Democracy Docket.