Trump Sues to Block a Peltola Victory Before Alaska Even Votes

"I'm the one that said do it." With those words, Donald Trump personally confirmed on October 23 that he was the one who ordered the lawsuit against Alaska. The election is on November 3. Yet 11 days before voters even go to the polls, a federal court already has a request to block the official certification of a potential victory by Democrat Mary Peltola under certain circumstances. Voters haven't even made their decision yet, and the president is already fighting over whether their decision will be recognized. A peculiar idea of protecting democracy.

President Trump on the Justice Department's investigation into Dan J. Sullivan (D) in Alaska's Senate race: "I'm the one that said do it."

The whole thing fits on a ballot. In Alaska, 2 men named Sullivan are running. Dan S. Sullivan is the Republican senator. Daniel J. Sullivan comes from Petersburg, a small fishing town, and says he decided to run entirely on his own. Republicans aren't buying a word of it. They claim he's supposed to siphon votes away from the incumbent and help Peltola cross the finish line. Trump had already attacked the man at a campaign rally, and on Wednesday he doubled down in writing: "We are looking at powerful legal options to remove the fraudulent Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. from the ballot, and holding the Democrats accountable for their election interference, in the pursuit of justice and fairness." The documents contain no evidence that Democrats are pulling the strings. A last name is enough.

The matter had already been settled. Republican election officials wanted the other Sullivan removed, but the Alaska Supreme Court allowed him to run. His name appears on the ballot without a party affiliation, while the senator is clearly identified as the Republican incumbent, and the ranked-choice voting system lets voters rank both however they like anyway. Despite all that, the Justice Department filed suit on October 22: Peltola's victory must not be certified until officials determine whether votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan were actually intended for the incumbent. The department calls it protecting the election. What that means is a government trying to figure out, after the fact, what someone was thinking alone in a voting booth while marking a secret ballot. In the primary, the senator received more than 68,000 votes, while his namesake got 4,107, about 2 percent. Peltola came out ahead. In a state of roughly 738,000 people, both parties expect a close race, and lawsuits like these thrive when the margins are tight.

Nate Adams, the senator's spokesman, left open whether his boss supports the lawsuit, saying the case should run its course. Peltola calls it a despicable political threat. Legal scholar Derek Muller isn't impressed with its chances: The federal law being cited, he argues, gives the Justice Department absolutely no authority to block the official certification of an election. The Constitution puts elections in the hands of the states, while courts have repeatedly blocked Trump's executive orders. California is also being sued. There, the administration wants ballots from 20,000 people handled separately because Washington questions their citizenship, even though California believes many of them are Americans. Attorney General Todd Blanche denied any improper interference on Thursday. Among those who signed the Alaska lawsuit is Stanley Woodward, who previously represented Trump allies and defendants from January 6. Meanwhile, in Ohio, Republicans themselves have been linked to an effort to promote a socialist candidate who could siphon votes away from Democrat Sherrod Brown. In 2020, Trump tried to undo his loss to Joe Biden. This time, a potential victory by his opponents is already in court before the election has even happened. There's a name on the ballot. Washington would rather decide for itself what the voter meant by it.