Judge Fast-Tracks Alaska Election Legal Fight as Officials Defend Ballots

A federal judge in Alaska has imposed an emergency schedule in the government's lawsuit seeking to block certification of the state's U.S. Senate election in certain circumstances if the Democratic candidate wins, as election officials defend ballots they say were designed to distinguish two candidates with similar names “as much as possible.”

Judge Sharon L. Gleason set out the schedule on Monday, agreeing to fast-track consideration for Democratic candidate Mary Peltola’s campaign and voting rights group League of Women Voters of Alaska to intervene in the case.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed the lawsuit last week seeking to prevent certification of the Senate result if incumbent Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan does not win and if he would have won had all votes cast for namesake challenger Daniel J. Sullivan instead been cast for him, with Alaska's ranked-choice process playing out accordingly.

Voting rights groups are also seeking permission to intervene. In a court filing on Friday, they argued the “frivolous” suit should be dismissed and the court should “consider sanctions against the attorneys" who filed it.

Peltola’s campaign filed court papers on Sunday seeking permission to intervene in order to pursue the swift dismissal of the suit and prevent President Donald Trump and Attorney General Todd Blanche using it “to falsely suggest that there is doubt about the lawfulness of Alaska's election results, without any legal basis” and “lay the groundwork for unlawful efforts to challenge a potential Peltola victory."

Judge Gleason's order set the following breakneck timetable:

• DOJ must respond to the motions to intervene by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, October 27
• Peltola’s campaign and the voting rights groups can reply by noon on October 28
• The judge says she intends to rule by 5 p.m. on October 28
• If intervention is granted, DOJ must be ready to respond to proposed motions to dismiss by 5 p.m. on October 29

The timetable means the judge could be in a position to toss or allow to porceed the DOJ's lawsuit before the weeend.

Early voting for the midterm elections got underway on October 19 for most of Alaska. Election Day is November 3.

Alaska election officials named as defendants in the case defended the ballots and election process in a separate court filing on Monday.

The Alaska election board, whose decision to block the challenger Daniel Sullivan was overturned by the state Supreme Court, said it had printed the ballots "without legal challenge" in the months before voting opened.

Officials said they "designed the ballot to distinguish" between the two Daniel Sullivans "as much as possible," including on the ballot: "(1) the two men’s different middle initials, (2) the “Jr.” that differentiates Daniel J.’s name, (3) the shortened version of the senator’s name, “Dan,” but the other man’s full first name, “Daniel,” (4) Dan S.’s longstanding Republican affiliation but not Daniel J.’s newfound Republican affiliation, and (5) the word “Incumbent” alongside Dan S.’s name to identify him as the current senator."

It added: “The United States has no legal authority over how candidates secure their place on the ballot in state elections; only the federal constitution’s qualifications clause constrains a state’s rules. And the United States also has no legally cognizable interest in securing a particular election outcome.”

This is a developing story; more to follow.