Blanche defends DoJ’s pre-emptive suit to block Alaska Senate results certification
The US Department of Justice has filed an unprecedented lawsuit to block the certification of Alaska’s US Senate election results if the Republican incumbent loses, citing potential voter confusion over two candidates named Dan Sullivan.
The lawsuit, filed by the Department of Justice, targets the Democratic candidate Mary Peltola and alleges that the presence of two Dan Sullivans on the ballot could cause voter confusion.
The legal action was taken on the eve of the election, with the DoJ seeking to block the certification of results if the GOP incumbent loses.
Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the suit during an interview on CNN’s State of the Union, calling a question from host Dana Bash “crazy.”
“Oh, stop it,” Blanche said. “Oh, you got to stop it with that. You are not being a real person. Come on, man. That is crazy!”
Bash pushed back, noting that the question was not crazy and referencing the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
Blanche insisted that the lawsuit was not an attempt to overturn the election, but rather a measure to ensure legal compliance in Alaska.
He added that the DoJ would determine if the confusion violated the law after the election.
The suit has drawn sharp criticism from legal experts, who argue it is legally weak and an unprecedented intervention by the federal government.
“The legal claim is so absurdly thin, there’s essentially no likelihood of success,” said Derek Mueller, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame.
David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation & Research, called the suit “an unprecedented intervention by the federal government” and noted that Alaska’s courts had already fully litigated the issue.
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