DOJ Plans Alaska Senate Appeal

What happened

Updated 3:30pm ET

The Justice Department plans to appeal the dismissal of its Alaska Senate certification lawsuit. The suit, filed at Trump’s direction, sought to stop certification if Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan lost, arguing that retired teacher Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.’s similar name could confuse voters and divert votes. Alaska said the case lacked merit and that probing voter intent would threaten ballot secrecy. U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason dismissed it after finding no workable way to investigate ballots while protecting privacy. Trump said the ballot could mislead voters because Daniel Sullivan appeared above the incumbent. The two Sullivans remain on the ballot as state and federal investigations continue.

How the left told it

Left-leaning outlets framed the appeal as part of a partisan intervention, while stressing that the alleged name tactic still raised real deception concerns. MS NOW emphasized that trying to block certification only if the Republican loses was the larger abuse. Mediaite lingered on the risk that a similar-name candidate could dupe voters.

How the right told it

Right-leaning outlets framed the case as a Democratic ballot-stacking scheme, with less focus on limits to court action. Breitbart cast Daniel Sullivan as a spoiler meant to help Mary Peltola. The Federalist cited Americans for Public Trust saying the conduct “may have violated” federal election laws. Patriot Post tied the fight to Democratic election-integrity hypocrisy.