Alaska urges judge to throw out DOJ bid to block Senate certification
What's new: State lawyers called the demand to isolate ballots for a second Dan Sullivan “impossible” because it would violate voter privacy.
Alaska's Republican-led state government asked a federal judge Saturday to dismiss a Justice Department lawsuit seeking to stop certification of the state's U.S. Senate race if Democrat Mary Peltola wins. In a filing to U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Gleason, the state's attorney general's office called the case meritless and urged the court to let ballot counting and certification proceed without federal interference. The DOJ also wants ballots cast for a second candidate named Dan Sullivan separated to determine whether voters were misled. Alaska argued that step cannot be done without breaching ballot secrecy. The dispute centers on whether the presence of Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. on the ballot confused voters and affected Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan's race.