U.S. District Court refuses to postpone certification of Republican defeat in Alaska Senate election in turmoil due to same-name candidates

[Washington Current Affairs] On the 1st, a federal district court in Alaska ruled against a lawsuit in which the Justice Department sought to halt the certification of the results in the event that the ruling Republican incumbent lost by a narrow margin in the U.S. Senate race in Alaska, which is one of the focal points of the U.S. midterm elections on the 3rd. According to US media, the Justice Department plans to appeal.

Trump hints at rejecting election results, subpoenas Alaska candidate with same name

Incumbent Dan Sullivan, former Democratic state representative Mary Peltola, and candidates with the same last name as Sullivan are running in the Alaska Senate race. The Justice Department filed a lawsuit on October 22, alleging that the purpose of the candidate with the same last name and name is to reduce Sullivan's votes. Furthermore, a US newspaper later reported that Peltola's campaign was involved in fielding a candidate with the same last name, leading to increased criticism from the Trump administration and the Republican Party.

In its ruling, the district court pointed out that the Justice Department's claim that it would separate votes cast for candidates with the same last name and investigate voting intentions was impossible to implement, including identifying voters' identities. At the same time, the Justice Department ruled that the measures sought "clearly violate the state's citizens' right to secret ballot."