US federal judge tosses lawsuit seeking to delay certification of Alaska Senate race results

By Yasin Gungor

ISTANBUL (AA) - A US federal court in the US state of Alaska on Sunday dismissed a lawsuit by the US Justice Department seeking to delay the certification of Alaska's US Senate race over alleged voter confusion between two similarly named candidates.

"Requiring the segregation of ballots cast by voters for Daniel J. Sullivan so that these voters can be further investigated by law enforcement is not a remedy that this Court can or should order as it clearly violate(s) Alaskans’ right to a secret ballot," Chief US District Judge Sharon L. Gleason wrote in the decision.

The federal government sought a preliminary injunction to prevent Alaska from certifying the results if incumbent Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan lost to Democratic Mary Peltola and votes for Dan J. Sullivan, a minor candidate, could have changed the outcome.

Gleason held that the requested relief is unworkable because ballots cast by Alaskan voters are already commingled and protected under constitutional secrecy provisions.

The ruling emphasized that sending federal agents to interrogate people about their ballot intent would strip voters of the right to cast ballots without intimidation.

The judge said some voters "may well have concerns regarding the secrecy of their ballot were law enforcement officers to pursue a court-ordered investigation of their intent in the voting booth."

Gleason added that altering election rules on the eve of Tuesday’s vote directly violates established judicial doctrine, dismissing the case.

The Justice Department said it plans to appeal the ruling, calling the dismissal “procedural.”

The court “did not dispute the argument of the United States that Daniel J. Sullivan (a/k/a Decoy Dan) entered the race as a frivolous candidate to confuse voters,” it said.

Political analysts have said such instances of so-called “ballot stacking” are common procedure for both parties and do not violate US election law.

Muhammed Yasin Güngör