The United States Department of Justice has filed a revised lawsuit seeking to decertify the results of a Senate race in the state of Alaska if Republican incumbent Dan S Sullivan loses narrowly.
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Sullivan → file → Alaska
The updated lawsuit on Thursday comes just days before the November 3 midterm election, which will determine control of Congress.
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which → update → Congress
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group → order → election
: Why is Trump’s DOJ suing in Alaska?
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DOJ → sue → Alaska
The complaint accuses Democrats of trying to confuse voters by placing a candidate with the same name as Sullivan on the ballot.
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complaint → accuse → ballot
Alaska’s Senate race is one of seven key toss-ups that will likely decide whether Republicans keep their majority in Congress’s upper chamber.
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Republicans → decide → chamber
Democratic challenger Mary Peltola is seeking to unseat Sullivan, a Republican ally of US President Donald Trump.
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Peltola → seek → Trump
But a New York Times report on Wednesday alleged that members of Peltola’s campaign helped recruit a retired teacher, Dan J Sullivan Jr, to run for the Senate seat as a spoiler candidate, designed to draw votes away from the incumbent.
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members → allege → incumbent
The Times report prompted a renewed legal push under the Trump administration to bar Alaska from certifying its election results, should Senator Sullivan lose.
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Sullivan → prompt → results
The Department of Justice issued 40 subpoenas and document preservation requests as part of the revised complaint, the Reuters news agency reported.
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agency → issue → complaint
Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy also ordered a criminal investigation into the allegations.
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Dunleavy → order → allegations
Peltola’s campaign has denied involvement in Dan J Sullivan Jr’s bid for the Senate.
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campaign → deny → Senate
Prosecutors, however, have accused the Democrat and her allies of playing partisan tricks – and undermining voters as a result.
“They orchestrated his sham campaign for the purpose of misleading Alaskan voters and getting Peltola elected,” Justice Department lawyers wrote in their amended complaint.
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lawyers → accuse → complaint
But the Justice Department’s lawsuit has raised concerns about election integrity and federal meddling.
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lawsuit → raise → integrity
Under the US Constitution, election administration falls to the states, not the presidency.
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administration → fall → states
In June, Alaska’s Supreme Court ruled that Dan J Sullivan Jr could compete in the midterms, and the state’s election office has already taken steps to reduce confusion between the two Sullivans.
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office → rule → Sullivans
Critics have been sceptical of the Justice Department’s bid to pause the certification of Alaska’s Senate results if Senator Sullivan does not win re-election, noting it would be impossible to divine voter intent based on the final tally alone.
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it → pause → tally
Justin Levitt, a former Department of Justice official under President Joe Biden, also questioned what legal authority the federal government had to get involved in the case.
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government → question → case
“I don’t know what they’re putting out subpoenas to investigate because I don’t know what federal violations are implicated that DOJ would have jurisdiction over,” Levitt told the Associated Press news agency.
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Levitt → know → agency
“Sure makes it seem like the point of the investigation is to become the story.”
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point → make → investigation
Democrats and Republicans are locked in tight races nationwide that will determine which party holds a majority in the US Senate for the remainder of Trump’s second term in office.
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party → lock → office
Republicans currently hold a slim majority in the legislature’s upper chamber, with 53 out of 100 seats.
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Republicans → hold → seats
Democratic candidates are hoping to win seats by capitalising on Trump’s deep unpopularity and frustration over the cost-of-living crisis.
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candidates → hop → crisis
Trump has suggested he may not accept the midterm results if his party loses its majorities in Congress, and he has pushed false claims of widespread voter fraud.
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he → suggest → fraud
The Justice Department has also attempted to challenge the voting process in several states, including California.
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Department → attempt → California
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