US judge throws out Trump election lawsuit in Alaska

Make this your preferred source to get more updates from this publisher on Google.

WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Sunday threw out a Trump administration lawsuit seeking to block Alaska from certifying a loss by Republican Senator Dan Sullivan in the November 3 election if votes for a rival who shares his name could have changed the outcome.

The ruling by US District Judge Sharon Gleason in Anchorage was the latest blow to President Donald Trump's effort to boost the federal government's role in elections, which are administered by the states under the US Constitution.

The US Justice Department had asked the court to prevent the certification of Alaska's vote if the incumbent senator loses narrowly. Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, has suggested he may not certify a victory by Peltola after the New York Times reported her campaign was involved in recruiting another challenger, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., into the race.

Sullivan on Sunday said he would accept the results of Tuesday's election, but declined to say whether he would support efforts to refuse certifying it if he lost. He joined his party colleagues in accusing the other Sullivan of trying to confuse voters with his similar name.

"They got the decoy guy on the ballot," the senator told CNN's "State of the Union" program. "I'm sure I'm going to lose a lot of votes to that trickery. So what I say to Alaskans is, 'Don't let them get away with the tricks.'"

Peltola and the campaign committee have denied involvement, and Sullivan Jr. has denied coordinating with Peltola's campaign. — Reuters