Blanche defends Trump-ordered lawsuit over Alaska Senate election certification

Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the Department of Justice's lawsuit on Sunday, which seeks to block the certification of Alaska's U.S. Senate election if Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan narrowly loses. The suit, filed last week, argues that voter confusion over a retired teacher also named Daniel J. Sullivan could skew results in favor of former Alaska Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola, who is currently ahead in polls with just over a week remaining until Election Day.

Blanche stated on CNN's "State of the Union" that the Justice Department is asking the court to ensure that if post-election litigation proves such confusion led to an improper result, the Alaskan state courts can correct the process to reflect the true will of voters. He characterized the opposition's actions as unprecedented attempts to thwart and cheat in the election.

The DOJ filing specifies that Alaska should not certify the election if Senator Sullivan does not win and if all votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan had instead been cast for Senator Sullivan, resulting in a win for the incumbent under the state's ranked-choice voting process. Alaska uses a top-four primary system for candidate selection and ranked-choice voting for its November general election, where candidates with the fewest votes are eliminated until a majority winner emerges.

The dispute centers on Daniel J. Sullivan, whom Republicans have argued is a Democratic plant intended to confuse voters. Democrats deny any connection to the candidate, and Sullivan himself has stated he is not running to cause confusion. The Alaska Division of Elections briefly removed his name from the ballot in June, but a state court ordered its return, a decision upheld by the state Supreme Court.

President Donald Trump, who has previously made claims of voter fraud without evidence, said he personally ordered the DOJ's lawsuit. Democratic groups and voting rights advocates, including Peltola's campaign, are moving to join the lawsuit to stop the executive branch intervention. They contend that the federal government lacks the statutory power to step into state-administered voting processes and is trying to impose an unprecedented override on local election management while early voting is already underway.

A motion to intervene describes the DOJ's demand as an "unprecedented pre-emptive strike" that imposes a "Hobson's choice" on Alaskans by seeking to enjoin certification only if the President's preferred candidate loses. The groups contend the federal government has no power to impose such conditions on state elections.

Alaska is considered one of the strongest opportunities for a Democratic flip in the Nov. 3 elections, which will determine congressional control for the remainder of Trump's term. Trump has been campaigning in competitive states recently as polls favor Democrats for control of the House and a potential Senate flip. Democrats and voting rights advocates have long feared Trump would attempt to meddle in the midterms to preserve narrow Republican majorities in Congress.

When pressed on whether the lawsuit aims to sway the election toward Republicans or lay groundwork for a "doomsday" scenario to overturn results, Blanche rejected the premise as "crazy." He maintained that the Justice Department is laying groundwork for Alaska to determine whether confusion violates the law in selecting its senator should such an issue arise after the election.