The Trump administration's Justice Department filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday seeking to block Alaska from certifying its US Senate election if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses to Democrat Mary Peltola, the BBC reports.

Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. argued in the filing that a second candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan — a retired teacher — could confuse voters, and asked a judge to bar certification if Sullivan loses by a margin smaller than the other Sullivan's vote total.

Trump took credit for the suit, telling reporters, "I'm the one that said do it." Peltola holds a narrow lead in a race that could decide Senate control.

The Guardian notes that voting rights experts called the action an "unprecedented intervention" by the federal government, with Center for Election Innovation & Research executive director David Becker saying he could not recall an administration ever attempting to stop certification of an election — certainly not 11 days before polls close.

Vox frames it bluntly: Trump's lawyers want to overturn Mary Peltola's victory in an election that is more than a week away.

NBC News adds that Attorney General Todd Blanche had told reporters just hours before the filing that DOJ never intends to improperly interfere with certification, suggesting only a "doomsday scenario" would warrant involvement.

The complaint leans on broad language rather than a specific statute.

According to Vox, the DOJ cites the National Voter Registration Act's stated purpose to "protect the integrity of the electoral process," though that 1993 law governs voter registration, not ballot access, plus a line from Bullock v. Carter (1972) about "frivolous or fraudulent candidacies."

Notre Dame law professor Derek Mueller, quoted by The Guardian, wrote that "the legal claim is so absurdly thin, there's essentially no likelihood of success."

Vox also notes the suit collides with the Purcell principle — which the Supreme Court reaffirmed the same day in blocking a New Hampshire order — against election-eve federal intervention.

Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired teacher and former US Forest Service worker, registered as a Republican earlier this year after previously belonging to the Alaska Independence Party.

He has repeatedly denied any ulterior motive, telling the Petersburg Pilot he "wouldn't even know who to speak to" in Peltola's campaign, the BBC reports.

The ballot itself distinguishes the candidates: the incumbent is listed as "Dan S. Sullivan (Registered Republican) Incumbent," while the other appears as "Daniel J. Sullivan Jr." with no party label, per NBC News.

Alaska's ranked-choice system also lets unsure voters rank both Sullivans first and second, and their vote still transfers to the senator.

Alaska is among the most closely watched midterm races, and Votebeat reports that control of the Senate could come down to the state, where polls show a dead heat.

Peltola, a moderate who supports gun rights and oil development, would be the first Democrat to win the seat in nearly two decades if she prevails. Trump carried Alaska by 14 points in 2024, but his approval there has been hurt by rising prices, the BBC reports.

Trump has also attacked Alaska's ranked-choice voting as a "scam" and urged support for a ballot measure to repeal it, The Guardian notes.

Legal scholars quoted by Votebeat expect the suit to be quickly dismissed — Florida State's Michael Morley called it "frivolous," and George Mason's Ilya Somin said suppressing candidates for potential voter confusion would violate the First Amendment.

Morley notes the senator's stronger path if he loses narrowly could be contesting the result before the US Senate itself, which is the sole judge of its members' elections, citing precedents from disputed New Hampshire and Iowa races.

Peltola called the suit a "distraction" amounting to "corruption," and even Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski condemned it, saying the DOJ "should never have filed this lawsuit." Alaska's ranked-choice tabulation begins November 18.