The US Justice Department has filed an Alaska ballot lawsuit over the appearance of two candidates named Dan Sullivan, as Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche insisted the action was not an attempt by President Donald Trump to overturn the state’s election.
Republicans fear that Daniel J. Sullivan Jr, a retired teacher and school administrator from Petersburg, could draw votes away from Republican Senator Dan Sullivan and help Democrat Mary Peltola, a former congresswoman, in the November 3 election.
Blanche said the lawsuit was intended to preserve evidence of possible voter confusion at polling stations and to establish safeguards around the result.
“We wish that we didn’t have to do this. We hope for a resolution that works,” he told CNN’s State of the Union.
He said the case was not seeking to prevent the result from being certified automatically, but argued that certification should be reconsidered if a court found that confusion, rather than voters’ intentions, had determined the outcome.
“It’s not saying, ‘Don’t certify,’” Blanche told CBS’s Face the Nation. “It’s saying, ‘If a court ultimately determines that it was decided because of confusion and not the will of the voters, then we do not think the states should certify.’”
Peltola described the lawsuit as “just flagrant, flagrant corruption in my opinion” and accused Republicans of using it as a diversion tactic. Alaska’s other Republican senator, Lisa Murkowski, also criticised the case.
Trump said the ballot was unfair and should identify Dan Sullivan as the sitting senator. “At least let him use the name Sen. Dan Sullivan as opposed to incumbent, because a lot of people don’t know what incumbent means,” he told reporters.
Voters will see “Dan S. Sullivan” listed as a “registered Republican” and “incumbent”. “Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.” will appear without a party affiliation.
Blanche, who previously represented Trump as a personal attorney, rejected comparisons with the election challenges that preceded the storming of the US Capitol by Trump supporters on January 6 2021.
“We are not doing anything improper. We’re not doing anything we’re not allowed to do,” he said. “But I do think it’s important for the American people to understand that we are not — (and) President Trump is not — trying to take over a state election in any way shape or form.”
