Trump Administration Files Revised Lawsuit to Challenge Alaska Election Results

The Trump administration filed a revised lawsuit seeking to block Alaska's election results if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan narrowly loses and, according to a person familiar with the matter, issued more than 40 subpoenas and document requests in its probe The United States Department of Justice has filed a revised lawsuit seeking to decertify the results of a Senate race in the state of Alaska if Republican incumbent Dan S Sullivan loses narrowly. The updated lawsuit on Thursday comes just days before the November 3 midterm election, which will determine control of Congress. The complaint accuses Democrats of trying to confuse voters by placing a candidate with the same name as Sullivan on the ballot. Alaska’s Senate race is one of seven key toss-ups that will likely decide whether Republicans keep their majority in Congress’s upper chamber. Democratic challenger Mary Peltola is seeking to unseat Sullivan, a Republican ally of US President Donald Trump. But a New York Times report on Wednesday alleged that members of Peltola’s campaign helped recruit a retired teacher, Dan J Sullivan Jr, to run for the Senate seat as a spoiler candidate, designed to draw votes away from the incumbent. The Times report prompted a renewed legal push under the Trump administration to bar Alaska from certifying its election results, should Senator Sullivan lose. The Department of Justice issued 40 subpoenas and document preservation requests as part of the revised complaint, the Reuters news agency reported. Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy also ordered a criminal investigation into the allegations. Peltola’s campaign has denied involvement in Dan J Sullivan Jr’s bid for the Senate. Prosecutors, however, have accused the Democrat and her allies of playing partisan tricks – and undermining voters as a result. “They orchestrated his sham campaign for misleading Alaskan voters and getting Peltola elected,” Justice Department lawyers wrote in their amended complaint.