Attorneys for Alaska say 'meritless' Trump demand to set aside Senate ballots 'not even possible'
The Department of Justice on Friday added a request that the judge separate all ballots showing votes for the second Dan Sullivan until it can be determined whether voters were fooled into wasting their votes for a spoiler candidate.
Alaska's Republican-led government urged a federal judge on Saturday to dismiss a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump demanding the certification of a possible Democratic victory in the state's crucial U.S. Senate election be set aside. The state's attorney general's office stated in a scathing filing that there is "no reason for this Court to entertain this meritless lawsuit any longer."
The lawsuit comes as U.S. District Court Judge Sharon L. Gleason set a deadline for arguments over whether it should be dismissed without a hearing. The Department of Justice argues that the presence of a second candidate on the ballot with the same name as Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan has led to voter confusion, and they want the judge to halt certification until it's determined if voters were misled.
The lawsuit, however, is dismissed by Alaska officials, who argue that separating the two Sullivans would violate voter privacy and that the ballot was designed to minimize confusion. The Trump administration claims the lawsuit is an attempt to combat fraud, but the state maintains the second candidate, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., is legally on the ballot and there's no changing that fact.
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