Sullivan vows to honour Alaska race outcome, US judge dismisses DOJ lawsuit
A US District Court judge has dismissed the Department of Justice's lawsuit seeking to decertify Alaska's Senate election results, while Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan has vowed to accept the outcome.
The lawsuit, filed by the Trump administration, aimed to invalidate the election if Senator Sullivan lost, but Judge Sharon Gleason ruled it infeasible due to already cast ballots and the inability to determine voter identity.
The dismissal came on Sunday, just two days before the November 3 midterm election, which will determine control of the US Senate. The race is one of seven key toss-ups that will likely decide whether Republicans keep their majority in the upper chamber.
Judge Gleason wrote that the United States provides no workable plan as to how it proposes to segregate ballots cast for Daniel J. Sullivan on Election Day and then conduct a court-ordered unspecified 'investigation' of those ballots in a manner that would preserve voter secrecy.
More fundamentally, the United States provides no workable plan as to how it proposes to segregate ballots cast for Daniel J. Sullivan on Election Day and then conduct a court-ordered unspecified 'investigation' of those ballots in a manner that would preserve voter secrecy.
The Justice Department said on Sunday that it plans to appeal Gleason's ruling. The lawsuit was part of a renewed legal push by the Trump administration to bar Alaska from certifying its election results, should Senator Sullivan lose.
Sullivan vows to accept results
In a stark contrast to the legal challenge, Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan has vowed to accept the election results. He told CNN on Sunday that he was confident of winning, accusing his Democratic opponent Mary Peltola of cheating.
I’m going to accept the election results.
Sullivan's promise comes after a New York Times report alleged that members of Peltola's campaign helped recruit a retired teacher named Dan J. Sullivan Jr to run for the Senate seat as a spoiler candidate in an attempt to draw votes away from Senator Sullivan.
Peltola has insisted she had nothing to do with recruiting the other Sullivan and has called attention to it a 'distraction' from the main issues facing Alaskans — namely, high prices caused by US-Israel war on Iran. Her campaign has also denied involvement.
Senator Sullivan doubted Peltola's claims, saying, 'There is no way this went on for a year that they weren't informing her.' He added, 'She got caught lying, and she's still lying to the Alaskan people, the media, to all of us.'
Final days of campaigning
Both candidates have spent the final days campaigning through Alaska's vast landscape. On Saturday night, Senator Sullivan handed out candy at a 'trunk-or-treat' event at a recreation centre north of Anchorage, where he quipped his costume was 'the real Dan Sullivan'.
Before a rally on Friday, Peltola was asked whether someone on her campaign could have been involved in recruiting the other Sullivan. 'I have no idea,' she told KTUU. 'I honestly have no idea.'
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