Peltola and a voters’ rights group sue to challenge the Justice Department’s bid to block Alaska Senate certification if Sen. Dan Sullivan loses
NBC News and CBS News reported that the Justice Department sued to keep Alaska election officials from certifying the state’s U.S. Senate result if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses next month. The Hill and the Guardian reported that the department filed the suit on Thursday, Oct. 22, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska. ABC News said the filing cites confusion among candidates with similar names, and CBS News reported that the department argues Sullivan would have won had the other Sullivan’s votes been counted for him. PBS NewsHour described the second candidate as a retired schoolteacher whom Republicans accuse of being a Democratic plant. The Financial Times reported that the department argues the similar names could taint the result. The Hill and PBS NewsHour reported that Trump said he directed the filing. CNBC reported on Saturday that lawsuits by Peltola and a voters’ rights group challenge the bid, and the New York Times reported that legal experts see it as dubious.
A pre-emptive suit asks a court to rule, before any votes are counted, on what should happen to certification if a close result goes a particular way. The New York Times ties the Alaska filing to the department’s California actions as part of a wider set of federal moves in the midterm elections, which is why the dispute reaches beyond one state.
If you vote in Alaska, the reports reviewed describe no change to how or where ballots are cast; your state election officials are the place to check on your ballot. For readers elsewhere, CNBC says the race is one of several that could decide control of the Senate.
The administration’s side, as CBS News and ABC News describe the filing, is that two candidates with the same name create confusion and that the result could be tainted if the incumbent loses narrowly. On this view, the department is asking a court to address the issue before certification.
The critics’ side comes from Peltola, who called the suit a desperate attempt to cling to power, and from the legal experts the New York Times cites, who say no obvious legal authority supports a pre-emptive effort to block certification. On this view, the suit is a political move rather than a legal remedy.
Confirmed across outlets: the department filed suit in federal court, Trump said he directed it, and Peltola and a voters’ rights group have filed challenges. Not confirmed: any hearing date or ruling. Watch the federal court docket this week and any state election officials’ response.
DailyDrop U.S. No. 20 · October 24, 2026 · Evening