The United States Justice Department has sued to block certification of Alaska's Senate election result if Republican Senator Dan Sullivan loses and votes for another candidate with a similar name could have changed the outcome. According to the Associated Press, the lawsuit was filed on 22 October 2026 in federal court in Alaska, less than two weeks before the 3 November election.
The case centres on Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., an independent candidate listed without a party label, while the incumbent is listed as a Republican. According to the Associated Press, the Justice Department argues that the similar names could mislead voters and asks for certification to be paused so votes for the second Sullivan can be investigated. The filing does not seek to remove the second candidate from the ballot, and early voting had already begun.
President Donald Trump said on Friday that he directed the lawsuit, telling reporters, "I'm the one that said do it," according to the Associated Press. Democrat Mary Peltola, the senator's main challenger, has criticised the intervention, while Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. has denied being a plant for either party and said he is running on his own record.
The dispute has a longer history in Alaska's courts. According to Al Jazeera, state election officials previously tried to keep the second Sullivan off the ballot, but the Alaska Supreme Court allowed him to remain. Alaska uses ranked-choice voting, which adds complexity to how votes for similarly named candidates are counted and transferred.
What happens next depends on both the courts and the vote count. The Justice Department's request is conditional: it would only apply if Sullivan loses and the second Sullivan's votes could have altered the result. A court ruling, the final count, and the certification timetable will determine whether that condition is ever tested.
Photo: Kevin Lam, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.