Alaska attorneys say President Trump’s demand to set aside Senate ballots is impossible
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Politics
Summary
President Trump directed the Justice Department on Oct. 22 to file a lawsuit seeking to halt certification of Alaska’s U.S. Senate race if incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan loses, arguing that ballots for a second candidate named Dan Sullivan should be set aside. Alaska’s Republican‑run state government said the request would violate ballot secrecy. Judge Sharon L. Gleason gave parties a deadline to move to dismiss the case. Congressional Republicans have opened investigations into the matter.
Why it matters
The case pits claims of election integrity against constitutional protections of voter anonymity, affecting how ballots are processed in close races. If the request were granted, it could set a precedent for altering vote‑counting procedures, while dismissal reinforces existing safeguards and limits executive interference in state elections.
Sources (60)
- FBI visits ‘Decoy Dan’ Sullivan donors as feds ramp up investigation into Alaska Senate candidate New York Post
- Alaska officials ask judge to deny DOJ’s ‘impossible’ demand to set aside ballots NBC News
- Alaska could take weeks to count votes — and determine who will control the US Senate New York Post
- Attorneys for Alaska say 'meritless' Trump demand to set aside Senate ballots 'not even possible' Washington Examiner
- Trump ask to set aside ‘Decoy Dan’ Alaska Senate ballots ‘not even possible’: attorneys New York Post
- Report: Dozens of Democrats Silent on Alaska Election Rigging While Calling GOP a 'Threat to Democracy' Breitbart
- Dem Sen. Smith: Alaska Ballot Stacking Story ‘a Distraction’, Feds Doing ‘Abuse of Power’ Breitbart
- MS NOW’s Capehart: I Don’t Care About Ballot Stacking, Trump Admin. Trying to Gum Up Alaska Race Breitbart
- Real Dan Sullivan Gets Flagged As Fake Days Before Election The Daily Wire
- Son of Alaska’s ‘Decoy’ Dan Sullivan works for Dem Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez The Post Millennial
- FBI Visits Dan J. Sullivan Donor In Candidate's Home Town As Alaska Senate Inquiry Widens HuffPost
- FBI Visits Dan J. Sullivan Donor In Candidate's Home Town As Alaska Senate Inquiry Widens HuffPost
- Alaska’s two ‘Dan Sullivans’: How common is ballot stacking, does it work? Al Jazeera
- Another little-known candidate in the Alaska Senate race points toward secretive effort to hurt Republicans CNN
- FBI visits Dan J. Sullivan donor in candidate’s home town as Alaska Senate inquiry widens Breitbart
- DOJ Seeks to Set Aside Alaska Ballots Cast for 2nd Sullivan as Criminal Probe Underway The Epoch Times
- Report: Alaska’s Second Dan Sullivan Leaves Hometown Days Before Election Breitbart
- Stumping in Florida, Trump doubles down on calls for Peltola’s prosecution in Alaska Senate race MS NOW
- FBI Resources ‘Surge’ Into Alaska Election Probe: ‘It Is Serious Now’ Newsweek
- Feds ‘surge’ law enforcement to Alaska after ‘troubling new revelations’ in ‘Decoy Dan’ Senate scheme New York Post
- DOJ Moves to Halt Alaska Senate Certification Over Ballot Name Confusion The Epoch Times
- DOJ requests separating Alaska ballots that rank Dan J. Sullivan in Senate race NBC News
- In Alaska race, Trump targets a long, sometimes sordid political tradition of ‘spoiler’ candidates Breitbart
- What to Know About the 2 Dan Sullivans on Alaska’s Senate Ballot The Epoch Times
- DOJ insists it just wants Alaska ballots preserved and isn’t seeking to change votes Rena Rowe · October 30, 2026 5:56 pm Washington Examiner
- US govt ramps up probe in Alaska over spoiler Senate candidate claim Breitbart
- DOJ Claims Mary Peltola, Democrats Misled Federal Court on Second Dan Sullivan Candidate Scheme Breitbart
- DOJ Says Probe Underway Over Alleged Plan To Manipulate Alaska Senate Race HuffPost
- Alaska Authorities Confirm Probe Into Peltola’s Campaign The Epoch Times
- PETER NAVARRO: Alaska’s Ballot-Stacking Scandal Demands A Grand Jury The Daily Caller
- Republicans ask FEC to investigate Peltola campaign over spoiler candidate Semafor
- Alaska may 'stop' election certification due to alleged Democratic 'Decoy Dan' scheme: Governor The Blaze
- Alaska Governor Says Election Certification Could Be Halted Amid Peltola Campaign Probe The Epoch Times
- Peltola denies involvement as DOJ expands Alaska election investigation Tmj4 News
- DOJ Escalates Criminal Probe into Peltola’s ‘Decoy Dan’ Sullivan Scheme — Issues More Than 40 Grand Jury Subpoenas Days Before Alaska Senate Vote The Gateway Pundit
- Peltola Campaign and DSCC Call NYT ‘Decoy Dan’ Bombshell a Mere ‘Distraction’ and Brand DOJ’s Court Accusations ‘Nonsense’ in Desperate Motion to Dismiss The Gateway Pundit
- DOJ Amends Alaska Lawsuit in Sullivan Senate Race Probe The Epoch Times
- Subramanyam: Alaska Ballot Stacking 'Part of the Process' of Ranked-Choice Voting, Wish My State Had Ranked-Choice Breitbart
- Trump Says Peltola Should Be Prosecuted over Dem Scheme to Recruit 2nd Dan Sullivan into Alaska Senate Race Breitbart
- Mary Peltola may be in trouble — but not from the Justice Department MS NOW
- Dem Mary Peltola doesn’t fully deny involvement in ‘Decoy Dan’ scheme to confuse Alaska voters New York Post
- House GOP Launches Investigation Into Alaska Democrat’s Senate Campaign The Epoch Times
- AK Sen. Sullivan: Two ‘Dan Sullivans’ on Ballot Is Corruption at the ‘Highest Level’ Breitbart
- Alaska Senate race: what to know about Democrats’ alleged ballot-stacking effort The Guardian
- Democrat Peltola feeling the heat as Alaska launches CRIMINAL probe into alleged 'Decoy Dan' ballot scheme The Blaze
- Check Out Alaska Ballot And See Why Sullivan Controversy Is A Non-Issue HuffPost
- See Why The Alaska Ballot Controversy Is A Whole Lotta Nothing HuffPost
- Booker: Dems Stacking Ballot in Alaska with Fake Dan Sullivan 'Much Ado About Nothing' Breitbart
- DOJ Intensifies ‘Aggressive Criminal Investigation’ into Alaska’s Second Dan Sullivan Breitbart
- Trump calls for Peltola to be removed from race after report Breitbart
- NYT: Democrats Recruited Another Dan Sullivan to Sow Confusion in Alaska Senate Race Democracy Now!
- Trump Demands Mary Peltola Be Taken Off Alaska Senate Race Ballot After NYT Report HuffPost
- Trump Demands Mary Peltola Be Taken Off Alaska Senate Race Ballot After NYT Report HuffPost
- Report: Peltola’s campaign involved in effort to recruit second Dan Sullivan for Alaska Senate race Breitbart
- NY Times exposes Alaska Democrat's alleged hunt for another Dan Sullivan to run against Republican The Blaze
- Alaska’s bizarre Senate doppelganger marks a new low for Democratic dirty tricks New York Post
- Secret Scheme To Sabotage GOP Senator Revealed After Democrat Denied Involvement: REPORT The Daily Caller
- Trump tricking MAGA die-hards with 'rude surprise' in new bounty scheme AlterNet
- The trick behind Trump's $1 million voter fraud bounty MS NOW
- Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski Endorses Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins For Alaska Governor HuffPost