Todd Blanche defends Alaska Senate certification lawsuit over ballot names
Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department’s suit is a safeguard against voter confusion, while critics challenge its role.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the Justice Department’s Alaska Senate certification lawsuit in television interviews Sunday, saying it would preserve a remedy if a court finds voter confusion affected the Nov. 3 race. The case concerns a seat viewed as important to Republicans’ effort to keep Senate control, and President Donald Trump said he directed the department to bring it.
The federal suit, filed Thursday, seeks to prevent Alaska from certifying results that may have been affected by confusion if Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan loses, according to NPR. It does not seek to halt certification before the election across the board.
What does the Alaska Senate certification lawsuit seek?
The Justice Department argues that two similarly named candidates could confuse voters. The ballot identifies the senator as “Dan S. Sullivan,” a registered Republican and incumbent, while another candidate appears as “Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.” without a party label, according to the Associated Press.
Blanche said on CNN and CBS that the lawsuit was intended to preserve evidence and allow a response if a court concludes confusion, rather than voter choice, decided the contest. He denied that Trump was attempting to take over an Alaska election or setting a basis to contest an unfavorable outcome.
Trump, who said Friday that he was responsible for the decision to file the suit, called the ballot unfair. He said the senator should be identified as “Sen. Dan Sullivan,” rather than as an incumbent, because some voters may not understand that term.
Why is the second Sullivan on the ballot?
Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired teacher and school administrator from Petersburg, has denied that he entered the race to mislead voters or draw support from the senator, NPR reported. Republicans have argued that his candidacy could split votes and help Democrat Mary Peltola, a former congresswoman.
Alaska election officials had sought to remove Daniel J. Sullivan from the ballot, but a state court and the Alaska Supreme Court allowed him to remain, according to NPR. Blanche said those decisions did not explicitly address federal law.
Critics dispute the Justice Department’s involvement. Peltola called the action corrupt, and Alaska’s other Republican senator, Lisa Murkowski, criticized it, the Associated Press reported. PBS reported that David Becker, an election-law expert and former Justice Department civil-rights lawyer, said the dispute was governed by state law and that the department had no authority to intervene; that is his legal view, not a court ruling.
A practical question remains unresolved: NPR reported that the Justice Department had not explained how it could establish whether ballots cast in secret for Daniel J. Sullivan were meant for the incumbent. No final court ruling or certification decision has been reported.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.