The U.S. Justice Department sued Alaska seeking to delay certification of the state’s U.S. Senate election if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses and votes cast for another candidate with a similar name could have changed the result^1,2.

CBS News reported the complaint asks a federal court to block certification if Sen. Sullivan loses but would have won had votes for Daniel J. Sullivan been counted for the incumbent, pending an inquiry into voter intent¹.

The general-election ballot includes Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, Democrat Mary Peltola, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. and Republican Gerald Heikes, under Alaska’s ranked-choice system^1,2. The department argued the similar names threaten to mislead voters who intend to support the senator¹.

Alaska courts already allowed Daniel J. Sullivan to remain on the ballot; the state’s Supreme Court did so in June, Al Jazeera reported². Ballots identify the incumbent as “Sullivan, Dan S (Registered Republican) Incumbent” and the other candidate as “Sullivan, Daniel J Jr” without a party label, even though he registered as a Republican². He has denied trying to confuse voters².

Al Jazeera quoted University of Alaska Southeast political scientist Glenn Wright saying the ballots make the incumbent clear and that ranked-choice voting is designed to reduce spoiler effects if voters rank a second choice². University of Alaska Anchorage’s Forrest Nabors said confusion could still matter in a close race².

Notre Dame election-law professor Derek Muller, cited by Al Jazeera, argued the department relied on the National Voter Registration Act’s purposes language rather than a provision about who may appear on a ballot, and that the filing came days before the Nov. 3 election after months of public dispute². No federal court had ordered Alaska to suspend certification².

Peltola received 49.5 percent in the August primary compared with about 41 percent for Sen. Sullivan, Al Jazeera said². Control of the Senate is at stake, with Republicans holding 53 seats².