Judge dismisses DOJ lawsuit over Alaska Senate election

A federal judge dismissed the U.S. Justice Department’s lawsuit challenging Alaska’s Senate election, ruling that ballots already cast could not be segregated through a workable process that preserved voter secrecy. The department said it would appeal. U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason dismissed the case on Sunday, November 1, according to the account of the ruling. She found that many voters had already cast ballots and that ballots had been commingled, making it infeasible to identify and separate them. The federal government had not provided a workable way to segregate ballots or investigate the matter without compromising voter secrecy, the ruling said. The lawsuit followed an allegation, reported by The New York Times, that members of Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola’s campaign recruited retired teacher Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. to run as a spoiler candidate against Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan. The supplied reports do not independently establish that allegation. Peltola denied knowing about or participating in any recruitment, and said the controversy distracted from substantive issues affecting Alaska. The senator accused Peltola and Senate leadership of...