Justice Department Asks Court to Isolate Some Alaska Senate Ballots

The U.S. Justice Department on Friday asked a court to order Alaska elections officials to set aside certain ballots, saying it wants to investigate possible voter confusion. The request is part of a broader legal fight over the state's Senate race, where federal officials have confirmed a criminal probe involving a candidate who shares a name with the Republican incumbent.

The race pits two-term Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan against Democrat Mary Peltola, a former U.S. Representative. It uses ranked-choice voting, a system in which voters rank candidates in order of preference. The candidate at the center of the probe is Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher.

The New York Times reported that operatives aligned with Peltola spent months recruiting candidates to draw votes away from Sen. Sullivan. The paper also reported that Alaska's governor ordered a criminal investigation into the effort. The New York Times

Alaska U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman said the criminal investigation has been ongoing for several months. He said the Times reports, which suggested Peltola's campaign was involved in recruiting Dan J. Sullivan, led to a "significant surge of law enforcement assets to Alaska." NPR

Peltola denied on Thursday that she knew anything about the effort to put Dan J. Sullivan on the ballot. She said she is not interested in tricking voters.

The Justice Department's request was made in a civil lawsuit filed last week. In a filing, Assistant U.S. Attorney E. Bryan Wilson said the government wants to preserve and separate all ballots ranking Dan J. Sullivan, in order to determine whether that ranking resulted from voter confusion. NPR

Justice Department attorneys said Dan J. Sullivan's candidacy poses a substantial risk of misleading voters and producing an electoral process that lacks integrity. The department asked for a decision on the ballot request by Monday. It also filed proposed questions it wants the Peltola campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the party's Senate fundraising arm, to answer in the same case. The lawsuit seeks to block certification of the Senate race if the incumbent loses.

President Donald Trump said he told the Justice Department to file the civil case over the Alaska Senate race.

Attorneys for Alaska called the demand to set aside Senate ballots "meritless" and said it was "not even possible." PBS NewsHour

Separately, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a Justice Department request that California set aside disputed ballots. The administration contends those ballots were sent to some 20,000 people who may not be U.S. citizens.

Alaskans will decide on Tuesday, Nov. 3, both the Senate and governor's races. Voters will also decide whether to scrap the state's ranked-choice ballot system. The New York Times