Trump Administration Opposes Dismissal in Election Integrity Case Over Alaska Senate Race

The U.S. Department of Justice has responded to motions seeking dismissal of a lawsuit involving Alaska’s U.S. Senate race. The Trump administration is asking the court to enjoin the certification of the upcoming election if Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan narrowly loses to Democrat Mary Peltola.

The government previously argued that voters could be confused by the presence of a third candidate, Daniel J. Sullivan, on Alaska’s ranked-choice ballot. In an amended complaint, however, the DOJ now contends that Democrats caused the alleged confusion. The filing cites recent The New York Times reporting that Democrats recruited the second Sullivan.

On Thursday, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Peltola’s principal campaign committee said the reporting about the alleged “spoiler” effort did not alter the legal issues. In a renewed motion to dismiss, the Democrats argued that the amended lawsuit still failed to “defend its indefensible legal claims as it was ordered to do” by the court.

The DSCC separately argued that the DOJ’s case depends on the “statement of purpose” section of the National Voter Registration Act. In statutory interpretation, such language is generally viewed as preamble-like, broad, or descriptive rather than legally binding, unlike a statute’s operative provisions.

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More specifically, the DSCC’s motion says the DOJ’s attempt to block the election rests “exclusively on an out-of-context snippet” of generalized NVRA language stating that states have a “duty” to “protect the integrity of the electoral process.”

The Trump administration’s response does not directly address the Democrats’ arguments about the context and legal significance of the statute’s statement of purpose. Instead, it focuses on the DSCC’s claim that the NVRA is primarily a voter-registration law. The DOJ again maintains that the statute also serves to “protect the integrity of the electoral process.”

“Mr. Sullivan is unquestionably undermining the integrity of Alaska’s election,” the DOJ response states. “The United States has thus stated a claim that Defendants’ conduct is preempted by the NVRA.”

The post ‘They do not deny any aspect’: Trump admin defends against dismissal in election ‘integrity’ case over Alaska Senate race first appeared on Law & Crime.