Justice Department Seeks Ballot Segregation in Alaska Senate Race

The Justice Department has requested a federal court to order Alaska election officials to segregate all ballots that rank Senate candidate Dan J. Sullivan. The request was made in a court filing by Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward.

Woodward stated that state officials should 'preserve and segreg, all ballots ranking Daniel J. Sullivan for the purposes of investigating whether such ranking was the product of voter confusion.' He emphasized that these measures must be taken before Election Day to ensure they are possible.

The filing did not specify how ballot review would determine voter confusion. Alaska uses a ranked choice voting system with four Senate candidates on the ballot. The request is part of an ongoing investigation into Sullivan's candidacy.

The Trump administration has intensified its involvement in the Alaska election, which is managed by state officials. This follows a report that Democrat Mary Pelt, campaign was involved in recruiting Dan J. Sullivan to run against Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan. Peltola has denied any involvement.

In addition to the ballot segregation request, the administration has filed three other motions in a civil case aimed at blocking Alaska from certifying the Senate election results. These include requests for internal and external communications from Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

The DSCC has denied involvement with Dan J. Sullivan. The administration also seeks a preliminary injunction in the case. Federal prosecutors have issued at least three dozen new subpoenas and document preservation requests, including those targeting the campaigns of Peltola and Dan J. Sullivan.