Days before Alaskans get to vote, the federal government is already trying to overturn the result.

Last week, at Donald Trump’s behest, the justice department sued to block the certification of Alaska’s US Senate race, if the Republican incumbent narrowly loses; a judge dismissed that suit on Sunday, though the administration said it planned to appeal. On Wednesday, Trump demanded that Mary Peltola, the Alaska Native Democrat whom polls favor to win, be removed from the ballot and prosecuted. Piling on, Alaska’s Republican governor has since ordered an investigation into Peltola’s campaign.

A New York Times investigation reported that operatives working with Peltola’s campaign helped recruit the other Sullivan, a retired teacher from Petersburg, to split the incumbent’s vote. Peltola and her campaign have denied this.

Whatever your reaction to the tactic, it’s generally legal in Alaska, where the state supreme court refused to remove the other Sullivan from the ballot.

In 2020, Trump’s allies pushed Kanye West on to ballots in states including Vermont, Arkansas and Wisconsin to take away votes from Democrats. Again, in 2024, Trump allies worked to get Jill Stein and Cornel West on ballots in swing states, and Trump praised both from a rally stage because each “takes 100%” from Democrats.

Not one federal lawyer intervened. What’s different in Alaska is not the tactic. It’s that the federal government has decided to police it in one race, before a single vote is........

© The Guardian