Dems, voting-rights groups challenge bid to block Alaska certification

Democratic groups and voting-rights advocates are seeking to join a federal lawsuit to stop the Justice Department's effort to prevent Alaska from certifying its U.S. Senate election results if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses.

The requests come from Alaskans for Mary, the campaign for Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola, the Democratic Party's Senate campaign committee, and a separate group including the League of Women Voters of Alaska, Common Cause and two individual voters.

Together, the groups argue that the executive branch lacks legal authority to intervene in state-run elections and is attempting an unprecedented override of state election administration with early voting already underway.

In court filings submitted Friday, the groups contend that the litigation — which President Donald Trump confirmed he personally ordered — seeks an extraordinary remedy: an investigation into whether voters who selected another candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan actually intended to vote for the incumbent senator.