Attorney General Todd Blanche insisted on Sunday that President Donald Trump's Justice Department is not trying to seize control of Alaska's Senate election — two days after the department sued to stop the state from certifying the results if the Republican incumbent loses narrowly.
The lawsuit, filed on Friday, targets a race with an unusual twist: two Republicans with almost identical names on the ballot — incumbent Senator Dan S. Sullivan and challenger Dan J. Sullivan Jr. The Justice Department argues voters will be confused, and Blanche said the younger Sullivan is running only "to confuse voters."
"President Trump is not trying to take over a state election in any way, shape, or form," Blanche told CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday. "We're not laying any groundwork for the president to do that." He said the suit was filed to give officials "the ability to determine whether there was confusion that violates the law."
Trump says he ordered the lawsuit
Blanche declined to comment on whether Trump ordered him to file the lawsuit — although the president himself has said he did so. Speaking to reporters on Sunday before boarding a flight to Michigan, Trump accused Democrats of orchestrating Dan J. Sullivan Jr.'s campaign.
"They've made it very unclear and I think it's very unfair," Trump said. "I think it's illegal because it's unfair. You want fairness in voting."
Dan J. Sullivan Jr. has denied in interviews with US news outlets that his aim is to cause confusion or divert votes from the incumbent. His campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
"How far they will go," critics warn
Critics, including Democratic and some Republican election officials, view the move as part of a pattern of federal overreach in election oversight. Senator Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, warned on NBC's "Meet the Press" that the lawsuit signals how the administration may act after the votes are counted.
"The fact that Todd Blanche and the Justice Department are willing to go along with it, they're willing to put their name on it, is an indication of how far they will go after this election is over to try to challenge the results," Schiff said.
"Never before have opponents gone to such lengths to try to thwart and cheat an election as they're doing in this case," Blanche told CNN, defending the action.
Midterms on edge
Election officials around the country have told Reuters they are preparing for potential federal interference in the November 3 midterm elections that will decide control of the US Congress, including legal challenges and disputes over voting that could disrupt certification of the results.
The Alaska lawsuit is not the administration's first move against state election systems. The Justice Department has also sued to stop California from counting certain mail-in ballots, and made a mostly unsuccessful attempt to force 30 states and the District of Columbia to provide complete voter rolls.
For now, the Alaska action is specific to that state, Blanche said — but with the midterms nine days away, election officials are watching whether the courts let the federal government halt a certification before a single vote is counted.
Reporting based on Reuters.