Trump Administration Opposes Dismissal in Alaska Senate Election Case

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed its response to motions seeking dismissal of a lawsuit tied to Alaska’s U.S. Senate contest. The Trump administration is asking the court to block certification of the upcoming election if Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan narrowly loses to Democrat Mary Peltola. The government is seeking an injunction that would prevent the results from being certified under that scenario.

Federal officials initially argued that Alaska voters could be confused by the presence of a third candidate, Daniel J. Sullivan, on the ranked-choice ballot. In an amended complaint, however, the DOJ now says Democrats helped create the alleged confusion. The filing points to recent New York Times reporting alleging that Democrats recruited the second Sullivan as part of a spoiler strategy.

On Thursday, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Peltola’s campaign argued that the new reporting does not alter the legal deficiencies in the government’s case. In a renewed motion to dismiss, the Democrats said the amended complaint still failed to “defend its indefensible legal claims as it was ordered to do” by the court.

The DSCC also contended that the DOJ’s case rests on the “statement of purpose” section of the National Voter Registration Act. In statutory interpretation, such language is generally treated as a broad, preamble-style description of congressional intent rather than a provision that independently carries the force of law. That distinction separates it from a statute’s operative requirements.

According to the DSCC’s filing, the administration’s attempt to stop certification relies “exclusively on an out-of-context snippet” of generalized language in the NVRA. The provision says states have a “duty” to “protect the integrity of the electoral process,” but Democrats argue that wording cannot support the government’s requested relief.

The Trump administration’s response does not directly address the Democrats’ argument that the language has been taken out of context. Instead, the DOJ focuses on the claim that the NVRA is primarily a voter-registration statute, while again maintaining that the law also requires states to safeguard election integrity.

“Mr. Sullivan is unquestionably undermining the integrity of Alaska’s election,” the DOJ wrote in its response. “The United States has thus stated a claim that Defendants’ conduct is preempted by the NVRA.”

The post “They do not deny any aspect”: Trump administration defends against dismissal in Alaska Senate election “integrity” case first appeared on Law & Crime.