Anchorage Court: DOJ Amends Suit Over Election Ballot Confusion

Anchorage federal court is handling a new turn in the legal battle over the state’s election process. On October 29, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice filed an amended complaint against the State of Alaska and the Division of Elections. The suit seeks a pre-emptive ruling that election results cannot be certified if they may be impacted by voter confusion. This move follows recent reporting by The New York Times regarding actions taken by operatives working for Mary Peltola and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

The dispute centers on a candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan from Petersburg who ran against incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan. The amended complaint points to internal efforts to recruit a spoiler candidate with the same name as the incumbent. The United States argues that operatives aligned with Peltola spent months recruiting candidates to take votes away from Senator Sullivan. A quote from the complaint states that this reporting aligns with what the United States has been alleging on information and belief. The complaint further notes that this strategy aligns with common sense, referring to an internal project called the “Ballot Composition Project.”

The timeline of the conflict began in the primary election. Petersburg Dan Sullivan received 2.4% of the primary votes. He advanced to the general election due to ranked-choice voting rules that allow the top four candidates to proceed. In the primary, Mary Peltola received 48% of the vote. Incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan received 42.8%. The Alaska Supreme Court previously ordered the Division of Elections to include Petersburg Dan on the ballot. The state court ruled that the Division did not have the power to exclude a candidate based on motive, despite initial concerns about his intent.

Yesterday, October 28, Judge Sharon Gleason granted two motions to intervene in the case. Alaskans for Mary and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee filed one motion. The League of Women Voters, Common Cause, and two individuals filed the other. These intervenors argue they have a direct interest in the case. They stated that they do not trust the Division of Elections to adequately defend against the United States’ allegations.

The Division of Elections responded to the lawsuit with a motion to dismiss. The Division argued that it has taken steps to distinguish the two Sullivans on the ballot so voters can easily determine which candidate is which. The Division also claimed that the United States lacks both evidence of harm and the authority to intervene in Alaska’s elections. The DOJ submitted Director Carol Beecher’s initial decision not to certify Petersburg Dan as Exhibit A in the amended complaint. That document lays out the reasons the Division suspected the Petersburg candidate of ill motives.

The DOJ is asking the court to rule that the Division may not certify results if two specific conditions are met. First, Senator Sullivan does not win the election. Second, if all votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan had been cast for Senator Sullivan and the ranked-choice process played out accordingly, Senator Sullivan would have won. The District Court of Alaska must now decide whether the federal government may intervene in a state’s election when intentional manipulation of the electorate is involved.

There has been no official ruling on the case yet. Early voting for the 2026 general election is currently underway. More than 60,000 Alaskans have already cast their ballots or mailed them in. The next step in the legal process will depend on the court’s decision regarding the motions to dismiss and intervene.