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Justice Department Seeks to Isolate Alaska Ballots Amid Criminal Probe
· Confirmed
In Short: The Justice Department has issued at least three dozen new subpoenas and document preservation requests as part of its probe into the Alaska Senate race.
At a news conference, U.S. Attorney for Alaska Thomas M. Heyman announced the existence of a criminal probe into an alleged scheme to confuse voters by putting a Senate candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan on the ballot with the same name as Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan.
The Justice Department is seeking a court order to isolate ballots that rank the candidate Daniel J. Sullivan, to investigate whether such rankings were the result of voter confusion.
Bryan Wilson, in a filing, said the government seeks to preserve and segregate all ballots ranking Daniel J. Sullivan for the purposes of investigating voter confusion.
President Donald Trump has called for the criminal prosecution of Peltola and her campaign, alleging voter fraud, though Alaska's Supreme Court has ruled that a candidate's motives aren't grounds for disqualification.
The Justice Department has also filed a lawsuit seeking to block the certification of the Alaska Senate race if the Republican incumbent loses to Peltola.
The Trump administration has filed a lawsuit to block certification of the U.S. Senate race in Alaska if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses the contest while another candidate with the same name is on the ballot.
Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy has ordered a probe into the matter, directing the Alaska Department of Public Safety to investigate after a New York Times report detailed an alleged effort involving people connected to Peltola's campaign and national Democrats.
What this adds
The Justice Department's action in Washington follows similar efforts in other states, such as Nevada, where the DOJ initially claimed to have found 16,000 noncitizen voters but later reduced the number to 185.
Background
The Justice Department's action in Washington follows similar efforts in other states, such as Nevada, where the DOJ initially claimed to have found 16,000 noncitizen voters but later reduced the number to 185.
What's confirmed
- Heyman holds a news conference on a criminal investigation related to an alleged scheme to confuse voters by putting a Senate candidate on the ballot with the same name as the Republican incumbent, at the James M.
- The U.S. Department of Justice is pushing for a court order to isolate certain Alaska ballots to investigate potential voter confusion, while federal officials confirmed the existence of a criminal probe over a Senate candidate who shares a name with the Republican incumbent.
- Peltola says she is not interested in “tricking voters.” A sample election ballot is displayed in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday, Oct.
- Bryan Wilson, in a filing, said the government "seeks to preserve and segregate all ballots ranking Daniel J. Sullivan for the purposes of investigating whether such ranking was the product of voter confusion, should such an investigation become necessary."
- "significant surge of law enforcement assets to Alaska."
- Justice Department attorneys in the Alaska case said there is a "substantial risk" that Dan J.
- Heyman on Friday would not say what potential crimes authorities are looking into or the targets of the probe, but asked members of the public to come forward with tips that could help investigators.
- They have asked a judge to dismiss the case and said Alaska elections officials already took steps to distinguish the two Sullivans on the ballot.
- He said he had not and that "Everybody knows who the incumbent is."
- President Donald Trump has said he told the department to file the case.
- Sullivan to investigate potential voter “confusion” with the senator.
- Separately, the Justice Department — as part of a lawsuit it filed last week — asked a judge to order that state elections officials isolate ballots ranking Dan J.
What's still developing
- Read more Dardanelle Middle School honor roll A sample election ballot is displayed in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday, Oct.
- “The Department of Justice does not seek to stop any ballot from being cast or to stop the certification of Alaska’s election,” Blanche wrote on social media.
- October 26, 2026 by James Brooks, Alaska Beacon An official with the Anchorage Police Department said Monday that there is no evidence that Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mary Peltola was deliberately targeted in a weekend car accident that injured her and members of her family.
- ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - With Alaska’s midterm election just days away, U.S. Senate candidate Mary Peltola is under a national microscope as a federal criminal probe into allegations that a former staff member made were revealed this week.
- “I think this is a real reflection on how deeply scared they are.” Peltola said she is still learning the details of the federal investigation.
- In the following days after the Times story was published, Gov. Mike Dunleavy suggested that the election certification could be blocked pending the results of the federal criminal investigation.
- “This is offensive to me on a number of different levels. First of all, this is Alaska; we’re not in the business of tricking each other up here,” she said.
- “Clearly, folks are gone, they’re gone for a good reason,” she said.
- A federal appeals court on Friday again refused to order California to set aside more than 20,000 mail-in ballots, and the Justice Department has widened its subpoenas in California and Alaska.
- Sources told ABC News that DOJ prosecutors are probing "whether the behind-the-scenes maneuvering to include Dan J. Sullivan's name on the ballot could violate potential federal conspiracy statutes."
- WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is escalating a criminal investigation over an Alaska Senate candidate who shares a name with the Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan, issuing a raft of new grand jury subpoenas, a person familiar with the matter told the Associated Press on Thursday.
- Asked what federal crimes could be implicated by an alleged recruitment scheme, the Justice Department official identified two civil rights statutes, 18 U.S.C.