Trump administration renews bid to block Alaska election results

The updated lawsuit cites a new report that Democratic operatives recruited a competitor to confuse voters and unseat a Republican incumbent.

The Department of Justice has accused Democratic political operatives of intentionally 'misleading Alaskan voters' in the state's Senate race [File: Carlo Allegri/Reuters]

The United States Department of Justice has filed a revised lawsuit seeking to decertify the results of a Senate race in the state of Alaska if Republican incumbent Dan S Sullivan loses narrowly.

The updated lawsuit on Thursday comes just days before the November 3 midterm election , which will determine control of Congress.

list 1 of 3 Republican governor of Alaska orders investigation into ‘spoiler candidate’

list 2 of 3 Texas Republican group seeks to block certification of state’s election

list 3 of 3 Dan Sullivan vs Dan Sullivan: Why is Trump’s DOJ suing in Alaska?

The complaint accuses Democrats of trying to confuse voters by placing a candidate with the same name as Sullivan on the ballot.

Alaska’s Senate race is one of seven key toss-ups that will likely decide whether Republicans keep their majority in Congress’s upper chamber.

Democratic challenger Mary Peltola is seeking to unseat Sullivan, a Republican ally of US President Donald Trump.

But a New York Times report on Wednesday alleged that members of Peltola’s campaign helped recruit a retired teacher, Dan J Sullivan Jr, to run for the Senate seat as a spoiler candidate, designed to draw votes away from the incumbent.

The Times report prompted a renewed legal push under the Trump administration to bar Alaska from certifying its election results, should Senator Sullivan lose.

The Department of Justice issued 40 subpoenas and document preservation requests as part of the revised complaint, the Reuters news agency reported.

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy also ordered a criminal investigation into the allegations. Peltola’s campaign has denied involvement in Dan J Sullivan Jr’s bid for the Senate.

Prosecutors, however, have accused the Democrat and her allies of playing partisan tricks – and undermining voters as a result.

“They orchestrated his sham campaign for the purpose of misleading Alaskan voters and getting Peltola elected,” Justice Department lawyers wrote in their amended complaint .

But the Justice Department’s lawsuit has raised concerns about election integrity and federal meddling.

Under the US Constitution, election administration falls to the states, not the presidency.

In June, Alaska’s Supreme Court ruled that Dan J Sullivan Jr could compete in the midterms, and the state’s election office has already taken steps to reduce confusion between the two Sullivans.

Recruiting candidates to split an opponent’s vote – a practice known as ballot stacking – is also generally considered to be legal and has been used by both parties in Alaska.

Critics have been sceptical of the Justice Department’s bid to pause the certification of Alaska’s Senate results if Senator Sullivan does not win re-election, noting it would be impossible to divine voter intent based on the final tally alone.

Justin Levitt, a former Department of Justice official under President Joe Biden, also questioned what legal authority the federal government had to get involved in the case.

“I don’t know what they’re putting out subpoenas to investigate because I don’t know what federal violations are implicated that DOJ would have jurisdiction over,” Levitt told the Associated Press news agency.

“Sure makes it seem like the point of the investigation is to become the story.”

Democrats and Republicans are locked in tight races nationwide that will determine which party holds a majority in the US Senate for the remainder of Trump’s second term in office.

Republicans currently hold a slim majority in the legislature’s upper chamber, with 53 out of 100 seats.

Democratic candidates are hoping to win seats by capitalising on Trump’s deep unpopularity and frustration over the cost-of-living crisis.

Trump has suggested he may not accept the midterm results if his party loses its majorities in Congress, and he has pushed false claims of widespread voter fraud.

The Justice Department has also attempted to challenge the voting process in several states, including California.

更新后的诉讼引用了一份新报告，称民主党人士招募了一名竞争对手，目的是迷惑选民，从而推翻共和党现任议员。

美国司法部指控民主党政治人士故意“误导阿拉斯加州选民”，影响该州的参议院选举。[图片：Carlo Allegri/路透社]

美国司法部已提起一项修订后的诉讼，寻求取消阿拉斯加州参议院选举结果的认证，前提是共和党现任参议员丹·S·沙利文以微弱劣势落败。

周四更新的诉讼距离 11 月 3 日的中期选举仅几天之遥，此次选举将决定国会的控制权。

阿拉斯加州共和党州长下令调查“搅局者候选人”（共3条，此为第1条）

德克萨斯州共和党团体试图阻止该州选举结果认证（共3个，此为第2个）

列表 3/3：丹·沙利文诉丹·沙利文：为什么特朗普的司法部要在阿拉斯加提起诉讼？

该投诉指控民主党人试图通过在选票上放置一个与苏利文同名的候选人来混淆选民。

阿拉斯加州的参议员竞选是七个关键的摇摆选区之一，这些选区的结果很可能决定共和党能否保住其在国会上议院的多数席位。

民主党挑战者玛丽·佩尔托拉正试图击败苏利文，苏利文是美国总统唐纳德·特朗普的共和党盟友。

但《纽约时报》周三的一篇报道声称，佩尔托拉竞选团队的成员帮助招募了一名退休教师丹·J·沙利文二世，让他作为搅局者竞选参议员席位，目的是从现任议员手中夺走选票。

《泰晤士报》的报道促使特朗普政府再次发起法律攻势，试图阻止阿拉斯加州认证其选举结果，以防苏利文参议员败选。

据路透社报道，作为修订后的起诉书的一部分，司法部发出了 40 份传票和文件保存请求。

阿拉斯加州州长迈克·邓利维也下令对这些指控展开刑事调查。佩尔托拉的竞选团队否认参与了丹·J·沙利文二世的参议员竞选。

然而，检方指责这位民主党人和她的盟友玩弄党派伎俩，结果损害了选民的利益。

“他们精心策划了他的虚假竞选活动，目的是误导阿拉斯加选民，让佩尔托拉当选，”司法部律师在修改后的起诉书中写道。

但司法部的诉讼引发了人们对选举公正性和联邦政府干预的担忧。

根据美国宪法，选举管理权属于各州，而不是总统。

6 月，阿拉斯加州最高法院裁定丹·J·沙利文二世可以参加中期选举，该州选举办公室已经采取措施减少两位沙利文之间的混淆。

招募候选人来分散对手的选票——这种做法被称为“拉票”——通常也被认为是合法的，阿拉斯加的两党都曾使用过这种做法。

批评人士对司法部提出的暂停认证阿拉斯加州参议院选举结果的请求表示怀疑，因为如果参议员苏利文未能连任，司法部认为这样做是行不通的。他们指出，仅凭最终的计票结果，不可能推断出选民的意图。

曾任乔·拜登总统时期司法部官员的贾斯汀·莱维特也质疑联邦政府是否有任何法律权力介入此案。

“我不知道他们发出传票是为了调查什么，因为我不知道其中涉及哪些联邦违法行为，司法部又对哪些违法行为拥有管辖权，”莱维特告诉美联社。

“这岂不是让人觉得，调查的目的就是为了让自己成为新闻焦点吗？”

民主党和共和党在全国范围内展开激烈角逐，这些选举结果将决定哪个党派在特朗普第二个任期的剩余时间内掌控美国参议院的多数席位。

目前，共和党在州议会上院仅占微弱多数，100 个席位中拥有 53 个席位。

民主党候选人希望利用特朗普极低的支持率和民众对生活成本危机的沮丧情绪来赢得席位。

特朗普曾暗示，如果他的政党失去在国会的多数席位，他可能不会接受中期选举结果，他还散布了有关选民舞弊的虚假说法。

美国司法部还曾试图对包括加利福尼亚州在内的几个州的投票程序提出质疑。