The Trump administration sued Alaska on Thursday to block certification of election results if incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses.
Why it matters: The race between incumbent Sullivan, Democrat Mary Pelota, and retired teacher Dan Sullivan has been marked by controversy, with Republicans accusing Democrats of trying to confuse voters by planting a candidate with the same name.
- Alaska's use of ranked-choice voting complicates matters, eliminating candidates in rounds if no one gets 50% of the initial vote.
- "An election result may be impacted by voter confusion if: (1) Senator Sullivan does not win the election; and (2) had all votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan been cast instead for Senator Sullivan and Alaska's rank-choice process played out accordingly, Senator Sullivan would have won the election," the lawsuit, filed in Alaska District Court, states.
Editor's note: This is a breaking news story and will be updated.