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DOJ Lawsuit Seeking to Condition Certification of Alaska's 2026 U.S. Senate Election

Documented · 10/22/2026

Anchorage, Alaska

This is pending federal litigation. On October 22, 2026, twelve days before the general election, the U.S. Department of Justice sued the State of Alaska and its election officials in United States v. State of Alaska, No. 3:26-cv-00376 (D. Alaska). The suit asks the court to declare unlawful, and to bar pending an investigation, the certification of Alaska's 2026 U.S. Senate result in one circumstance: if incumbent Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan loses, and would have won had the votes cast for a second candidate, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., gone to him instead. The complaint rests on the National Voter Registration Act and on a June 2026 determination by Alaska's elections director that the second candidacy was filed to confuse voters. Alaska's courts later ordered that candidate restored to the ballot, and the Alaska Supreme Court has not yet issued its full opinion.

On October 23, 2026, asked about the lawsuit, President Donald J. Trump told reporters, "Well, I'm the one that said do it." Two days earlier he had posted that "We are looking at powerful legal options to remove the fraudulent Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. from the Ballot."

Procedural status (as of October 23, 2026): The complaint has been filed and assigned to U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Gleason. No motion for emergency relief, hearing, answer or ruling appears on the docket. No court has granted the requested relief, no court has found that voters were or will be confused, and no certification has been delayed; the election is November 3, 2026. The government's allegations about the second candidate's intent and about likely voter confusion are allegations, not findings.

Documented claims

Documented fact 10/23/2026

A Justice Department spokesperson said Daniel J. Sullivan's candidacy was intended to mislead voters and compromise the fairness of the ballot, and that the department is acting under the National Voter Registration Act; the department also described the candidacy as "frivolous." Earlier on October 22, before the complaint was filed and in response to general questions about elections, Attorney General Todd Blanche said it is not the department's intention to "improperly interfere with elections or the state confirmation process or certification process," while declining to rule out involvement in every circumstance. The Alaska Division of Elections said it was reviewing the complaint and was "focused on running the ongoing election and giving voter's confidence that their votes will count." A spokesman for Sen. Dan S. Sullivan's campaign said, "We'll let the DOJ complaint run its course." Mary Peltola, the Democratic candidate, called the suit "a blatant, despicable political threat." Daniel J. Sullivan did not respond to the Associated Press's request for comment.

Documented fact 10/23/2026

On October 23, 2026, speaking to reporters at the foot of the Air Force One stairs in Fort Myers, Florida, beside Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, President Donald J. Trump said of the lawsuit, "Well, I'm the one that said do it." In the recorded exchange, broadcast live by Fox News, he went on to say that "the Democrats put up a guy" named Dan Sullivan and that "the Daniel J is the fake." The recording begins with his answer and does not include the reporter's question; the Associated Press, NBC News and ABC News reported that he was answering a question about the Justice Department's Alaska lawsuit. The statement is the President's own account of his role. No Justice Department document describing a presidential instruction has been made public, and no court has made any finding about the President's role or the lawsuit's purpose.

Editorial classification 10/23/2026

ExtremismLedger includes this matter under Editorial Policy §0 criterion 8 (subversion or attempted subversion of American constitutional democratic-republic norms). This is a novel application of that criterion, decided by the project owner. The norms involved are lawful governmental processes for conducting and certifying elections under neutral, pre-established state rules, and protected political participation, specifically the counting of votes cast for a candidate whom the state's courts ordered placed on the ballot. The documented conduct is a federal lawsuit, which the President publicly said he directed after publicly backing the incumbent and calling the race "CHEATING." The suit asks a federal court to bar certification of the Senate result only if the incumbent the President has backed loses, pending an investigation into whether votes cast for a ballot-qualified candidate were meant for that incumbent. It relies on the NVRA's general statement of purpose and identifies no NVRA provision governing candidate qualification, ballot design or certification. It also relies on an administrative determination that Alaska's courts set aside as a basis for removal. The Ledger's judgment is that this conduct is reasonably capable of undermining those norms because it seeks in advance a federal mechanism to delay, and potentially reassess, one specific electoral outcome, a loss by the incumbent the President has backed. Weighing against that judgment: the conduct is a court filing that a judge may dismiss; the government asserts statutory authority and a recognized state interest against confusing candidacies; Alaska's own elections director found by a preponderance of the evidence that the candidacy was filed to confuse voters; and no court has ruled. This is the Ledger's own editorial classification, not a judicial finding. It does not assert that the lawsuit is unlawful, that any vote was suppressed, or that certification has been blocked. The Ledger does not apply criterion 6 (election interference), because the conduct has so far been pursued through litigation and has not obstructed any election process. It does not apply criterion 7, because no court or official body has made a finding of abuse.

Documented fact 10/23/2026

As of October 23, 2026, the federal docket showed the complaint, the civil cover sheet and summonses issued on October 22, and a motion filed October 23 by a non-party, Thomas A. Lamb, for leave to file an amicus brief opposing the government's requested relief. The government had not filed a motion for a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction, no hearing had been scheduled, no defendant had answered, and the court had not ruled on any matter. No court has granted the relief requested, no court has found that voters were or will be confused, and no certification has been blocked or delayed. Alaska's general election is November 3, 2026.

Documented fact 10/22/2026

On October 22, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice filed United States v. State of Alaska, No. 3:26-cv-00376, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska, against the State of Alaska, Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher in her official capacity, the State's election boards, and the State Ballot Counting Review Board. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Gleason. The complaint was signed by Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward, Jr. and Assistant U.S. Attorney E. Bryan Wilson. It asserts a single claim under the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), citing the Act's statement of purpose to "protect the integrity of the electoral process" (52 U.S.C. § 20501(b)(3)) and the Attorney General's authority to sue to carry out the Act (52 U.S.C. § 20510(a)). The government argues that, under Bullock v. Carter (1972), states have an interest in protecting their ballots from "frivolous or fraudulent candidacies," and that this interest continues through certification. It alleges that Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. entered the race "with the intention of misleading supporters" of incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, relying on the elections director's June 15, 2026 determination and on a July 2026 New York Times interview in which, the complaint says, he acknowledged voting for Democrats in the last three presidential elections and for Democratic candidate Mary Peltola for Congress. It further alleges that with polls showing a race within one or two points and Daniel J. Sullivan having received 2.5% of the primary vote, his presence on the ranked-choice ballot could change the outcome. These are the government's allegations; no court has ruled on them.

Documented fact 10/22/2026

The complaint asks the court to declare that certifying "any result that may be impacted by voter confusion" would violate the defendants' duties under the NVRA, and to enjoin the defendants from certifying such a result "pending an investigation to determine whether votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan were meant to be cast for Senator Sullivan," along with any further procedures the court considers necessary "to determine what the result would have been absent Daniel J. Sullivan's inclusion on the ballot." It defines a result that "may be impacted by voter confusion" as one in which "(1) Senator Sullivan does not win the election; and (2) had all votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan been cast instead for Senator Sullivan and Alaska's rank-choice process played out accordingly, Senator Sullivan would have won the election." The requested restriction would therefore apply only if the incumbent loses. The complaint does not ask the court to remove Daniel J. Sullivan from the ballot or to cancel any votes. This is relief the government has requested; no court has granted it.

Documented fact 10/21/2026

On October 21, 2026, the day before the lawsuit was filed, Trump posted on Truth Social that the Alaska Senate race was "totally confusing, with the Dumocrats putting up another man, totally unrelated to Politics, named Daniel J. Sullivan, Jr." He wrote that "this is CHEATING in an Election, and the Judge that allowed this to happen should be ashamed of himself," and that "We are looking at powerful legal options to remove the fraudulent Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. from the Ballot, and holding the Democrats accountable for their Election Interference, in the pursuit of Justice and Fairness." Trump has publicly backed Sen. Dan S. Sullivan; on the August 18, 2026 primary day he posted, "ALASKA: Be careful, VOTE FOR THE REAL DAN SULLIVAN TODAY," and said Democrats had "put up an imposter of the same name."

Documented fact 06/29/2026

On June 15, 2026, acting on complaints filed on behalf of the chair of the Alaska Republican Party, Alaska Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher determined that Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.'s declaration of candidacy "was not filed in order to declare an actual good-faith candidacy" but "with a purpose to confuse or mislead," and decertified his candidacy. She cited his request to appear on the ballot as "Dan Sullivan," a name she said he had not used with the Division; his change to Republican affiliation shortly before filing; a campaign website resembling the senator's; and his work with a consultant who supports Democratic candidates. He sought judicial review. An Alaska trial court ruled on June 26, 2026 that the Division erred in excluding him, and on June 29, 2026 the Alaska Supreme Court summarily affirmed in an order of about 100 words. It sent the matter back to the Division to decide how his name would appear and said a full opinion would follow; that opinion had not been issued as of October 22, 2026. At oral argument, Chief Justice Susan Carney said the Division had chosen "the most extreme remedy possible," and Justice Aimee Oravec said the question was whether the conduct justified removal "versus mitigating" on the ballot. The Division had argued that his conduct showed intent to confuse voters, and fourteen states filed a brief supporting the Division. The general-election sample ballot reproduced in the federal complaint lists "Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr." without a party designation and "Sullivan, Dan S. (Registered Republican) Incumbent." The Division's June determination was an administrative finding, which the state courts set aside as a basis for removing him from the ballot; no court has found that he entered the race to confuse voters.

Relationships

Confirmed Associated with — Donald J. Trump (Publicly stated he directed the Justice Department to file the lawsuit)

10/23/2026