What does it mean when the Justice Department sues over a name?

There is a particular anxiety that settles over a democracy when the machinery of law is asked to do the work of politics. In Alaska, where the Senate race has narrowed to a contest between Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan and Democrat Mary Peltola, the Department of Justice has filed an unusual lawsuit asking a federal court to block certification of the election if Sullivan loses. The reason offered is not fraud or irregularity, but a name. Another Daniel Sullivan—Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., of the tiny fishing community of Petersburg—is also on the ballot, without a party designation, and the Justice Department argues that voter confusion could taint the result .

The lawsuit was filed Thursday in federal court in Alaska, ten days before the midterm elections. It contends that federal law requires states to protect the integrity of federal elections, and that Alaska should not certify any result "that may be impacted by voter confusion" if Sullivan loses and it appears he might have won but for the other Sullivan on the ballot . The Alaska Supreme Court has already rejected Republican efforts to remove the other Sullivan from the ballot. State officials made the decisions about how to list him, and he will appear without a party designation while the senator is listed as the Republican incumbent .

The timing and the target of the lawsuit have drawn sharp criticism. David Becker of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, a nonpartisan group that advises election officials, said he could not recall a similar instance in which the federal government sought to block certification of an election, "and certainly not 11 days before an election." He noted that the issue of the similar name had already been addressed by state officials. "D.O.J. making this claim this late smells of political interference and is against D.O.J. policy," he said. "The feds have absolutely no authority to tell Alaska when and how to certify" .

Derek Muller, a law professor at Notre Dame, said the lawsuit will likely only matter if Republicans narrowly lose the Alaska Senate race and that it does not seem to have legal merit. "The statute simply doesn't let the Department of Justice enjoin certification," he said . Attorney General Blanche told reporters earlier Thursday that it was not the department's intention to improperly interfere with elections or the state certification process, describing such a scenario as unlikely outside of extreme circumstances .

The Alaska race is one of several tight contests that could determine the balance of power in the Senate. Many in both parties believe the fight could come down to Alaska, where Sullivan faces Peltola in what polls suggest is a close race . The presence of the other Sullivan—who has said he decided to run on his own, though Republicans have contended he is a Democratic plant to siphon votes—adds a layer of uncertainty to an already uncertain contest.

What the lawsuit does not address is the deeper question it raises: whether the federal government should have any role in deciding when a state's election results are certified. The Constitution assigns that task to the states, and Alaska officials have followed state law in listing the candidates. The courts will now decide whether the Justice Department's concern about confusion is a legitimate basis for intervention or an overreach that the law does not permit.

The election is November 3. The lawsuit will proceed in the meantime, a legal shadow cast over a race that has not yet been decided. Alaska's voters will cast their ballots, the ranked-choice system will allocate them, and the result—whatever it is—will face a challenge that no other Senate race this year is likely to encounter.

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Sources: Associated Press, The New York Times, Alaska Supreme Court filings