Judge dismisses DOJ's Alaska Senate certification suit; DOJ says it will appeal (update, Nov. 1, 2026)

Case

On Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, two days before the midterms, U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason dismissed the Justice Department's suit seeking to block Alaska from certifying a Senate result affected by the second "Dan Sullivan" on the ballot. She wrote that the U.S. offered no workable plan to segregate and investigate ballots while protecting voter secrecy. DOJ said it will appeal to the 9th Circuit; a separate criminal inquiry continues.

What changed (Nov. 1, 2026)
On Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason dismissed the Justice Department's lawsuit in a 20-page decision, according to Alaska Public Media.
DOJ's suit, filed Oct. 22, asked the court to bar Alaska from certifying any result affected by voter confusion and to preserve and segregate ballots marked for challenger Daniel J. Sullivan pending an investigation.
Gleason wrote that the United States offered "no workable plan" to segregate and investigate those ballots while preserving voter secrecy.
Fox News reported the judge also said the requested relief would intrude on Alaska's responsibility to run its own elections.
Fox News reported that DOJ said it would appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing the dismissal rested on procedural grounds without addressing its claim that the second Sullivan entered the race to confuse voters.
Alaska's Department of Law argued the investigation was impossible because ballots carry no voter names and are commingled; the Division of Elections said the ballot already distinguishes "Dan S. Sullivan" from "Daniel J. Sullivan, Jr."
A separate criminal inquiry continues: Alaska U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman has confirmed it, and a state legislator said FBI agents visited at least two constituents about contributions to Daniel J. Sullivan.
Trump has said he ordered the lawsuit; he and Sen. Sullivan call the challenger a sham. The New York Times reported the Peltola campaign helped recruit him, which the campaign and he deny.

Perspectives

Official position — Justice Department and Sen. Dan Sullivan / Trump
DOJ's position, as reported, is that the court dismissed the case on procedural grounds without reaching its claim that a decoy candidate entered the race to confuse voters, and that it will appeal to the 9th Circuit. Trump, Sen. Sullivan and other Republicans call the second candidate a sham meant to siphon votes, and Alaska's U.S. Attorney has said a separate criminal inquiry is under way.

Critic — Alaska Department of Law, Division of Elections, Peltola campaign
Alaska's Department of Law called the proposed ballot investigation "half-baked" and impossible without breaching voter secrecy. The state says the ballot already minimizes confusion by listing the candidates under different names, the Peltola campaign denies any role in recruiting the second Sullivan, and the second Sullivan denies contact with it.

Research notes
Not verified: CNBC and CNN pages could not be fetched (CNBC cited by headline only). No court filing text was read. The Nov. 3 election and any 9th Circuit filing may change the picture.

Note
DOJ says the court ruled on procedural grounds without reaching its claim that the second Sullivan entered the race to confuse voters; the Peltola campaign and Daniel J. Sullivan deny coordinating.

Sources
[1] Alaska Public Media — Judge tosses DOJ lawsuit that sought to block election results if Sen. Dan Sullivan loses (https://alaskapublic.org/news/politics/elections/2026-11-01/judge-tosses-doj-lawsuit-that-sought-to-block-election-results-if-republican-sen-dan-sullivan-loses) · 2026-11-01
[2] Fox 9 (Minneapolis) — Judge dismisses DOJ lawsuit over controversial Alaska Senate race (https://www.fox9.com/news/judge-dismisses-doj-lawsuit-over-controversial-alaska-senate-race) · 2026-11-01
[3] Fox News — Federal judge dismisses DOJ lawsuit to delay Alaska Senate election; DOJ set to appeal (https://www.foxnews.com/politics/doj-set-appeal-ruling-alaska-senate-race-dispute-over-decoy-dan) · 2026-11-01
[4] CNBC — Judge dismisses Alaska Senate election lawsuit; DOJ vows appeal (https://www.cnbc.com/2026/11/01/alaska-senate-doj-lawsuit-dismissed-sullivan-peltola.html) · 2026-11-01

Connections

Cause and effect — DOJ asks court for preliminary injunction and expedited discovery in Alaska Senate suit; judge fast-tracks motions to dismiss (update, Nov. 1, 2026)
The Nov. 1 dismissal resolves the pending motions to dismiss and the injunction/discovery request described in the earlier draft.

Cause and effect — DOJ files revised Alaska Senate complaint citing NYT report on second "Dan Sullivan"; 40+ subpoenas reported (update, Oct. 29, 2026)
The court dismissed the revised complaint DOJ filed Oct. 29.

Related — DOJ sends target letters, including to Democratic election lawyer Marc Elias, in Alaska Senate "sham candidate" criminal probe (update, Nov. 3, 2026)
The criminal probe continues after Judge Gleason dismissed DOJ's civil certification suit.

Cause and effect — DOJ sues to block certification of Alaska Senate result if Sullivan loses; Trump says he ordered it (Oct. 22-23, 2026)
The original Oct. 22 suit was dismissed on Nov. 1.

Same context — DOJ's run of court setbacks, Oct. 28-Nov. 2, 2026: ex-FBI officials' case dismissed as "weaponization," Alaska suit tossed, courts reject California ballot demands
The Alaska dismissal is one of the rulings summarized in this week-in-court roundup.

Same context — Trump posts at 1:12 a.m. on Election Day that Alaska candidate Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. may have been "kidnapped" by "corrupt Dumocrat lawyers," with no evidence offered (Nov. 3, 2026)
The post came about 36 hours after the judge dismissed DOJ's Alaska certification suit and DOJ filed a notice of appeal.