Alaska judge rejects DOJ bid to delay Senate race result as GOP nominee agrees to accept outcome
WASHINGTON, DC: A federal Judge on Sunday, Nov 1, dismissed the Justice Department’s lawsuit seeking to block certification of Alaska’s Senate race if incumbent GOP Senator Dan Sullivan be defeated.
The lawsuit stemmed from the presence of a second Dan Sullivan as a third contender for the Senate race, prompting Republicans to argue that his presence might confuse voters and impact Dan Sullivan’s ranking.
Federal judge dismisses DOJ lawsuit seeking to block Alaska Senate result
US District Judge Sharon Gleason ruled that the federal government had failed to present a workable plan for separating ballots cast for the two candidates named Sullivan without compromising voter secrecy. She also said the proposed action was not feasible because many voters had already cast their ballots.
Gleason added that the administration's effort came too close to Election Day for the court to make such a major change to the voting process.
The Department of Justice demanded a court-ordered investigation into the election results if Sullivan lost.
Gleason, a nominee of former President Barack Obama, wrote, “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 ruling is another legal setback for the Trump administration's efforts to intervene in state election processes ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.
The US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit on Friday, Oct 30, rejected the Justice Department's emergency request to force California to set aside and block the immediate counting of thousands of disputed ballots.
Dan Sullivan says he will accept the result even if he is defeated
Court’s verdict on Alaska Senate result came hours after incumbent GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan said he will accept the election result even if he loses.
The two Sullivan row deepened after an investigative report revealed that the Dem candidate Mary Peltola’s campaign plotted to recruit another candidate with a similar name to GOP’s Sullivan to dilute GOP votes.
During CNN’s ‘State of the Union’ interview that aired on Sunday morning, Sullivan was asked if he will only accept the results if he wins. Sullivan said, “No, I’m going to accept the election results.”
Sullivan said that his Democratic opponent, Mary Peltola, was “not fit for office” after the spoiler candidate episode.
Although he committed to accept the poll results, whatever they are, he concluded the interview by saying, “To all the Alaskans out there, get out there and vote. Don’t let this election be stolen.”
