Federal courts left Alaska’s Senate certification process and California’s ballot count unchanged after rejecting Justice Department requests, while voting was already underway in California ahead of Election Day.
In Alaska, U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Gleason dismissed the DOJ’s amended complaint Sunday for lack of jurisdiction. The department asked to halt certification only if alleged voter confusion could affect the Senate result, including in a hypothetical scenario where reallocating votes cast for retired teacher Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. would change the outcome involving Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan.
Gleason said the DOJ had not shown its requested order could remedy its alleged injury and found no workable way to separate ballots for an unspecified investigation while preserving ballot secrecy. The court did not decide whether confusion occurred. The DOJ appealed to the 9th Circuit on Sunday.
A divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit rejected the DOJ’s emergency request to set aside mail ballots associated with about 20,000 people the department identified as likely noncitizens. The majority said the DOJ had not clearly shown a likelihood of success on its legal arguments, including its claim that federal law displaced California rules. It also cited potential harm to eligible voters and ballot administration, along with the principle against federal courts changing election rules close to voting.
The ruling followed a district court rejection of the request in an earlier decision. In a CBS News segment Sunday about midterm-related legal challenges, election law contributor David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, said, “The courts are holding firm.”
Voters are scheduled to cast ballots Tuesday, Nov. 3, in elections that will determine control of Congress.
