Midterms: Alaska: Ministerium will Stimmzettel getrennt lagern lassen

The US Justice Department is pursuing a legal request in Alaska to have certain ballots separated after the contentious senate election, according to a court filing. The focus is on votes cast for Dan J. Sullivan, a political newcomer whom Republicans consider a decoy for the Democrats, as reported in a filing with the Anchorage court.

The aim is to investigate, if necessary, whether voters were confused by the name similarity between two candidates. Republicans allied with US President Donald Trump have long suspected Democrats of deliberately choosing Sullivan as a candidate to manipulate voters and reduce the incumbent's chances, arguing that voters could be deliberately misled into thinking the incumbent Sullivan was challenging the election.

Democrats claim that higher chances were needed for their own candidate Mary Peltola, arguing that the accusations of voter manipulation are aimed at increasing Peltola's chances. The US Justice Department confirmed on Friday (local time) criminal investigations into accusations of voter manipulation in the Alaska senate election.

Official evidence for this accusation is not currently known. However, the "New York Times" recently reported that Peltola's campaign allies had been actively searching for a name decoy of the incumbent long before the election to reduce his chances of success. The campaign team of Peltola denies any involvement in her candidacy.

Trump personally asked the Justice Department to file the lawsuit even before the press report came out. By filing a new request, the US government is re-entering the ongoing legal dispute. While the name similarity itself may seem suspicious to non-Republicans, the lawsuit has drawn much criticism for being seen as government interference in the election in the state.

The step also raised questions about how it could be determined afterward what exactly influenced voters' decisions and whether misinterpretation played a role.