Federal judge dismisses Justice Department bid to pause Alaska Senate results

The federal government's legal strategy to intervene in Alaska's Senate race has taken a major setback ahead of Tuesday's election. U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice that sought to delay the certification of the race results if Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan loses to Democrat Mary Peltola.

The Justice Department argued that a second candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired teacher from Petersburg, could confuse voters and siphon votes away from the senator. The federal attorneys requested an order requiring the state to preserve and segregate all ballots cast for the challenger pending an investigation into voter intent. The court found this mechanism unworkable.

Judge Gleason wrote in a 20-page decision released Sunday morning that the United States failed to provide a viable method for separating the ballots. She noted that the plan relied on an unspecified investigation that would compromise the secrecy of the vote. The judge stated that the government could not identify a way to segregate the ballots while maintaining the privacy of the voters who cast them.

The ruling effectively removes one legal barrier to certifying the race results on schedule. The decision arrives just two days before Election Day, narrowing the federal government's ability to directly influence the outcome of the contest. The state of Alaska, represented by the Department of Law, had previously argued that the lawsuit was half-baked. Officials pointed out that ballots are commingled in boxes and lack voter names, making a targeted investigation logistically impossible without breaking standard procedures.

President Donald Trump, who said he ordered the lawsuit, has spent months claiming the challenger is a hoax designed to harm the senator. Trump and other Republicans have labeled the Petersburg resident a sham. The presidential campaign has pushed the narrative that the same-name candidate is a Democratic effort to split the Republican vote. Despite the dismissal, the Justice Department is expected to appeal the decision in the coming days.

The legal fight has played out against a backdrop of a tight election. A poll released Friday shows Peltola leading the senator by two percentage points. The same poll indicates that the challenger, Daniel J. Sullivan, will capture more than 4 percent of the total vote. This margin is large enough to determine the winner if the race is close. The contest is viewed as a key determinant for which party controls the U.S. Senate.

Beyond the civil lawsuit, federal prosecutors have opened a separate criminal inquiry. U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman told reporters on Friday that his office and the FBI are investigating whether a crime occurred in connection with the election. He cited a surge in federal resources dedicated to maintaining election integrity. Heyman referenced a recent New York Times report alleging that Democratic operatives recruited the challenger to the ballot. The report included text messages from a fired campaign manager, though Peltola denies she was aware of the plan.

Local officials have noticed increased federal activity in Southeast Alaska. State Rep. Rebecca Himschoot, an independent from Sitka, said FBI agents visited at least two of her constituents in Sitka and Petersburg on Friday. The agents asked the residents if they knew who they were donating to when they contributed to the challenger. Himschoot described the visits as harassment and said the residents felt invaded. She noted that the challenger has raised approximately $20,000 and carries a $30,000 debt. Most of his large contributions came from residents in Petersburg, and Himschoot said she was among those who donated to cover his legal fees from a prior Supreme Court case.