US Justice Department sues to block Alaska Senate result if Republican loses
The suit argues an independent candidate with the same name as Senator Dan Sullivan could confuse voters; Trump said: "I'm the one that said do it."
With just over a week to go before the US midterm elections, the Justice Department has gone to court to delay certification of the result in Alaska's closely fought Senate race if the Republican incumbent, Dan Sullivan, loses. The lawsuit argues that an independent candidate named Daniel J Sullivan is on the ballot deliberately to mislead voters.
The filing says there is a "substantial likelihood" that the other Sullivan's presence will confuse people trying to vote for the senator, so that a certified result would "reflect an electoral process that lacked integrity". It asks a federal judge to hold off certification to allow an investigation into whether votes cast for Daniel J Sullivan were meant for the senator.
President Donald Trump took credit for the lawsuit while visiting Florida on Friday. "I'm the one that said 'do it'," he told reporters in Fort Myers. Legal experts quoted by US media described the case as legally dubious, since a candidate's name on the ballot is normally settled long before election day.
Democrats and voting rights groups fear the administration is preparing to interfere in other close races as Republicans struggle against growing Democratic support. The Justice Department has also asked some California counties to set aside ballots from people it alleges are not citizens, and has recently brought cases against several prominent Trump critics, who call them politically motivated.