A Door Closed on the Lawsuit, and an Appeal Already Filed

There are legal arguments that arrive like a closing door, and legal arguments that arrive like a door left ajar—technically closed, but with the handle still in reach. On Sunday, a federal judge in Alaska closed the door on the Trump administration's attempt to preemptively challenge the state's Senate results, but the appeal was filed before the day was over.

U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason dismissed the Justice Department's lawsuit seeking to block certification of Alaska's Senate race if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses to Democrat Mary Peltola . The suit, filed less than two weeks before the election and as early voting was underway, asked the court to investigate whether votes cast for a retired teacher named Dan J. Sullivan—who shares the incumbent's name and has done little campaigning—were intended for the senator .

Gleason's ruling was procedural in its framing but pointed in its logic. The relief the government sought was "infeasible," she wrote, because many voters had already cast ballots and those ballots have been mixed together in a way that cannot be matched to specific voters . "More fundamentally, 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" . She also cited the Purcell principle, the Supreme Court doctrine that courts should generally not change election rules too close to an election .

The state of Alaska, which is led by a Republican governor and a Republican acting attorney general, had fought the lawsuit vigorously, calling it "meritless" . The Alaska Supreme Court had already ruled that both Sullivans could appear on the ballot, and state officials argued that the ranked-choice system itself offered a solution: voters who ranked both Sullivans first and second would have their votes transfer to the other if one were eliminated . The federal government's intervention, the state argued, was unnecessary and unlawful.

The Justice Department filed a notice of appeal shortly after the ruling. "Alaskan voters deserve a fair election, not to be misled in an attempt to rig outcomes," a department spokesperson said . The appeal preserves the administration's argument that Dan J. Sullivan entered the race as a "frivolous candidate to confuse voters," even as the judge declined to reach that question .

Senator Sullivan, speaking on CNN earlier Sunday, said he expected to "lose a lot of votes to that trickery" and doubted Peltola's claim that she had no knowledge of her aides' involvement in recruiting the second Sullivan . Peltola has denied any involvement, saying "I am not interested in tricking voters" . The ranked-choice count begins after Election Day, and the results may not be known for days.

For now, the door is closed, but the appeal keeps the handle within reach. The votes will be cast on Tuesday, and the counting will proceed under the rules the state has set—unless a higher court says otherwise.

Image Disclaimer: The images in this article were generated by artificial intelligence and are not photographs of the courtroom or the candidates.

Sources: AP News, Los Angeles Times, NPR, BBC, The New York Times