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Sunday, October 25, 2026

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Politics · Sunday, October 25, 2026

Justice Department sues to freeze a possible Alaska Senate result

The File desk · Oct. 25, 2026, 6:41 a.m. ET

Confirmed1 primary sources

Status

Confirmed that the United States filed the complaint on Oct. 22, 2026, in , No. . The claims in the complaint are the Justice Department's allegations. Alaska's answer is not in the filing.
  • Confirmed
    The complaint was filed Oct. 22, 2026, in federal court in Anchorage, and it asks the court to block certification of certain Senate results.
  • Confirmed
    The judge has not ruled in this filing. No hearing date and no answer from the state appear in the complaint.
The Justice Department sued Alaska on Thursday to stop the state from certifying a U.S. Senate result if votes for a second candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan would have changed who won. Senator Dan S. Sullivan, the Republican incumbent, and Daniel J. Sullivan, who is also on the ballot, share a name. The general election is in November.1
The case is , No. , in the District of Alaska. The complaint is Document 1, filed Oct. 22, 2026. The defendants include the state and Carol Beecher, director of the Division of Elections, in her official capacity. Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward, Jr., and Assistant U.S. Attorney E. Bryan Wilson signed it in Anchorage on Oct. 22. The complaint cites the , , the purpose of protecting the integrity of the electoral process.1
On June 15, Beecher wrote that Daniel J. Sullivan's declaration of candidacy was not properly filed, because it was filed to confuse or mislead voters rather than as a good-faith run for Senate. The complaint says he asked to appear on the ballot as “Dan Sullivan,” the name the senator uses, registered as a Republican just before filing, and worked with a consultant who supports Democrats. It also says he told The New York Times, in an interview dated July 18, 2026, that he voted for Democrats in the last three presidential elections. A trial court held that the division was wrong to keep him off the ballot, in , No. . The Alaska Supreme Court summarily affirmed on June 29, 2026, in No. , and said a full opinion would come later. The complaint says that opinion has not been issued, and that Daniel J. Sullivan will be on the November ballot because of that summary decision.2
Why it matters (Estimate). The federal government is asking a court to hold up certification of a Senate race before the votes are counted, and only if a hypothetical about voter confusion would change the winner. If a judge agrees, Alaskans could wait longer to learn who speaks for them in the Senate. The suit is also a test of how far the Justice Department can go in telling a state when it may certify its own election. The complaint has not been granted.
The complaint defines a result as impacted by voter confusion only if two things are both true. Senator Sullivan does not win, and he would have won if every vote for Daniel J. Sullivan had gone to him instead and Alaska's rank-choice count had then played out. The United States asks the court to keep the state from certifying any result that meets that test, until an investigation looks at whether votes for Daniel J. Sullivan were meant for the senator. In the Aug. 28 primary, the complaint says, Mary Peltola received 49.5 percent, Senator Sullivan 41.4 percent, Daniel J. Sullivan 2.5 percent, and Gerald Heikes 1.1 percent. The complaint does not say what the judge will do.3
How we know

Notes

  1. 1., et al., No. , Document 1, filed 10/22/26, U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.akd.80263/gov.uscourts.akd.80263.1.0.pdf The stamp reads “Case Document 1 Filed 10/22/26.” Defendants include the State of Alaska and Carol Beecher, in her official capacity as Director of the Division of Elections, plus the election boards and the State Ballot Counting Review Board. Signed “RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED this October 22, 2026, in Anchorage, Alaska,” by Stanley E. Woodward, Jr., and E. Bryan Wilson. Paragraph 43 cites . The claims are the United States' allegations.
  2. 2.Same complaint, paragraphs 22 through 25. The June 15, 2026 letter is described as Beecher's finding that the filing was made “with a purpose to confuse or mislead.” Paragraph 23 says Daniel J. Sullivan asked to be listed as “Dan Sullivan,” asked to be designated a Republican immediately before filing, worked with a consultant described as a longtime supporter of Democratic candidates, and “admitted in a July 18, 2026, interview with The New York Times that he voted for Democrats in the last three presidential elections.” This desk did not open the Times interview. The trial-court case is given as , No. (June 26, 2026). The supreme court case is given as , No. (June 29, 2026), with the line that a “full opinion will be issued at a later date.”
  3. 3.Same complaint, paragraphs 31, 42, and 44. Primary shares: Peltola 49.5 percent, Senator Sullivan 41.4 percent, Daniel J. Sullivan 2.5 percent, Gerald Heikes 1.1 percent, primary date August 28. Paragraph 42's definition is quoted in the story. Paragraph 44 asks that the defendants be kept from certifying a result that meets that definition, pending an investigation into whether votes for Daniel J. Sullivan were meant for Senator Sullivan. The complaint spells the count “rank-choice.” This desk's politics calendar lists Election Day as Nov. 3, 2026. The complaint itself says November 2026.

What is still unknown or disputed

  • The judge's response. Not in the complaint.
  • Any hearing date. Not in the complaint.
  • The state's answer. Not in the complaint.
  • Whether the Alaska Supreme Court has since issued the full opinion it said would come later. The complaint says it had not.

Primary sources

Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.

  1. Source 1

    Complaint in United States v. State of Alaska, No. 3:26-cv-00376-SLG

    U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska · October 22, 2026

    The United States asks the court to block certification of a Senate result it says Daniel J. Sullivan's name could swing.

    https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.akd.80263/gov.uscourts.akd.80263.1.0.pdf