"No Guarantee to Withhold Certification if Republicans Lose in Alaska"... U.S. Government Lawsuit Dismissed by Court

Amid allegations that the Democratic Party attempted to split votes by running a candidate with the same name as the incumbent Republican senator in the Alaska U.S. Senate race, Republican Senator Dan Sullivan himself has stated that he will accept the election results even if he loses.

In an interview with CNN on November 1 (local time), when asked whether he would accept the results only if he wins, Senator Sullivan said, "No," adding, "I will accept the election results."

Sullivan also urged Alaska voters, saying, "Everyone go out and vote," and "Make sure this election isn't stolen."

The Alaska Senate race has sparked controversy as incumbent Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan and a candidate named Dan J. Sullivan, who shares the same name, are running side by side.

Republicans have raised suspicions that the Democratic Party recruited a candidate with the same name to split Republican votes. The New York Times (NYT) recently reported that Democratic figures were found to have been involved in searching for a candidate with the same name as Senator Sullivan and inducing him to run.

However, Democratic candidate Mary Peltola has denied any knowledge of such a plan and stated that she was not involved in another person's run.

Subsequently, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, ordered an investigation into the allegations and warned that if illegal activities are confirmed, the certification of the election results could be suspended or altered.

President Donald Trump has also labeled the allegations "election fraud" and demanded Peltola's resignation and prosecution.

While the Republican Party and the Trump administration have raised suspicions of election fraud and even brought up the possibility of refusing to accept the results, Senator Sullivan—the actual candidate in the race—has stated that he will accept the results even if he loses.

Meanwhile, a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice requesting that the certification of the Alaska Senate election results be withheld if Senator Sullivan loses was dismissed by a court on this day.

The Justice Department argued that voters might mistakenly vote for "candidate Dan J. Sullivan" when intending to vote for Senator Sullivan. However, the court judged that the Justice Department failed to properly present a method to distinguish voters who marked their ballots for candidate Dan J. Sullivan while guaranteeing the principle of the secret ballot.

The Alaska Senate election is one of the closely watched battlegrounds regarding whether the Republican Party can maintain its Senate majority.

As seen in the Justice Department's lawsuit, there is a possibility that President Trump will take issue with the outcome in some way and continue to claim election fraud if an unfavorable result emerges.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.