Judge Dismisses Alaska Senate Lawsuit

What happened

Updated Nov 1, 5:23pm ET

U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason dismissed the Justice Department’s Alaska Senate election lawsuit. The Justice Department said it would appeal, while its investigation continued. The department had alleged that retired teacher Daniel J. Sullivan’s candidacy could confuse voters and divert votes from Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, who faces Democrat Mary Peltola in a ranked-choice race that could affect Senate control. It sought to stop certification if those votes could change the outcome, and to preserve ballots for review. Gleason found no workable remedy that protected ballot secrecy. Alaska’s government had argued segregation was infeasible. Peltola denied involvement in recruiting Daniel Sullivan, who said he entered on his own.

How the left told it

Left-leaning outlets framed the dismissal as a rebuke to an unworkable administration bid, stressing ballot secrecy over intervention in the same-name candidacy. CNN treated the same-name challenge as a deceptive gambit that hurt Peltola and fueled attacks on ranked-choice voting. It also cast the lawsuit as part of Trump administration meddling before voting had ended.

How the right told it

Right-leaning outlets led with the alleged Decoy Dan controversy, then stressed that the administration hit legal limits when it sought a remedy. Fox News quoted Sullivan saying "it is actually illegal" to collude to confuse voters. Gleason said the requested relief would intrude on Alaska’s election authority.