Daijiworld Media Network - Anchorage

Anchorage, Nov 2: A federal judge on Sunday dismissed a lawsuit filed by US President Donald Trump's administration seeking to prevent Alaska from certifying a possible victory by Democratic candidate Mary Peltola over Republican Senator Dan Sullivan in Tuesday's midterm elections, amid concerns over votes cast for another candidate with the same name.

US District Judge Sharon Gleason, based in Anchorage, ruled that the administration had failed to establish the legal standing required to bring the case. She also said the proposed segregation and investigation of ballots could violate voters' constitutional right to a secret ballot.

The case centred on Alaska's Senate race, in which incumbent Senator Daniel S. Sullivan is facing a challenge from former Democratic US representative Mary Peltola. The ballot also features Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired teacher living in a remote fishing village, whose name closely resembles that of the Republican incumbent, along with another lesser-known candidate.

The Justice Department filed the lawsuit on October 22, alleging that the retired teacher was contesting the election with the intention of misleading supporters of Senator Sullivan into voting for him. It sought an order preventing Alaska election officials from certifying a Peltola victory if votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan could have changed the outcome had they been counted for the incumbent.

The administration wanted the court to investigate whether voters who selected Daniel J. Sullivan had actually intended to vote for the Republican senator. However, Judge Gleason questioned how such an investigation could be conducted without compromising ballot secrecy.

“The United States provides no workable plan as to how it proposes to segregate ballots cast for Daniel J. Sullivan on Election Day and then conduct a court-ordered unspecified 'investigation' of those ballots in a manner that would preserve voter secrecy,” Gleason wrote in her ruling.

The Justice Department said it intended to appeal the decision, describing the dismissal as being based on procedural grounds. It maintained that Alaskan voters deserved a fair election and should not be misled in an attempt to influence the outcome.

Alaska's elections division welcomed the ruling, saying it had rejected a last-minute attempt by the federal administration to intervene in the state's election process. The division said the decision would allow officials to concentrate on conducting a fair election while protecting ballot secrecy.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which intervened in the case in support of Alaska, also welcomed the ruling. It accused the Justice Department of attempting to interfere with the election before a single ballot had been counted.

The controversy intensified after The New York Times reported on October 28 that members of Peltola's campaign had worked with a Democratic operative from Ohio to find another Dan Sullivan to enter the race and potentially draw votes away from the Republican incumbent. Reuters said it had not independently verified the report.

Peltola has denied involvement in recruiting the retired teacher, saying at a campaign rally that she was “not interested in tricking voters”. The retired teacher has also denied that his intention was to create confusion, although he has said he would prefer Peltola to defeat the incumbent senator.

The administration's lawsuit is part of a broader effort by Trump to expand federal oversight of elections, which are primarily administered by individual states under the US Constitution. The federal government has sought voter-registration data from states and called for stricter measures to protect election integrity, while critics have described some of its actions as federal overreach.

Trump has said he directed the Justice Department to file the Alaska lawsuit and has called for Peltola to face criminal prosecution. Peltola's campaign had dismissed the case as meritless.

The Alaska Senate contest is among the closely watched races in the midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress. Democrats are seeking a net gain of at least four Senate seats to secure a majority.