Judge tosses DOJ’s lawsuit over Alaska Senate race 

A federal judge dismissed the US Department of Justice’s lawsuit over Alaska’s Senate election on 1 November 2026, two days before polling day. The department had sought to stop the state certifying a result if Republican incumbent Dan S. Sullivan lost and votes for another candidate, Daniel J. Sullivan, might have changed the outcome. It argued that voters could mistake the retired teacher for the senator. Democrat Mary Peltola was also contesting the closely watched race, which uses ranked-choice voting.

District Judge Sharon Gleason found that the department lacked standing because the court could not provide the remedy it sought. With early voting already under way, the department had offered no workable way to identify ballots cast for Daniel J. Sullivan and investigate voters’ intentions while preserving ballot secrecy. The ruling dismissed the case without prejudice; it did not decide whether the second Sullivan intended to confuse voters. The Justice Department filed a notice of appeal and maintained that Alaskans deserved an election free from misleading tactics. Alaska had opposed the suit, and state courts had previously upheld Daniel J. Sullivan’s place on the ballot.