Pull up a stool, grab the onion rings, and behold the federal government doing election administration with all the calming restraint of a guy yelling into a CB radio from the Market Basket parking lot.
Alaska: The White House Wants a Say in Counting the Votes
President Donald Trump said Friday that he personally directed the Justice Department to sue Alaska over its U.S. Senate race. The suit, filed October 22, asks a federal court to stop Alaska from certifying a result affected by the presence of Daniel J. Sullivan, a separate candidate whose name resembles incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan’s. The complaint seeks statewide declaratory and injunctive relief against Alaska election officials. That is one hell of a way to discover “state election administration” apparently comes with a Washington concierge desk. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/alaska-senate-race-sullivan-name-lawsuit-certification-d8f4a3c7b5247cc427a05f796d7c0d82))
The federal complaint alleges the second Sullivan entered the race to confuse voters; Alaska’s Supreme Court had previously allowed him onto the ballot. The administration’s lawsuit arrived 11 days before the November 3 election, and Trump publicly claimed ownership of the decision. Whether the legal theory survives contact with a judge is for the courts; the documented move itself is plain as day, like an empty Michelob bottle on the sidewalk. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/alaska-senate-race-sullivan-name-lawsuit-certification-d8f4a3c7b5247cc427a05f796d7c0d82))
California: “Set Aside Those Ballots” With 48 Hours on the Clock
Also Friday, federal prosecutors sent letters to at least 18 California counties demanding identifying information tied to ballots that DOJ says may have been issued to noncitizens. According to the Los Angeles County registrar and a letter obtained by the Associated Press, counties were given 48 hours to provide records and were asked to sequester ballots when citizenship could not be verified. The requests include sensitive information such as Social Security and identification data. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/california-department-of-justice-noncitizen-voting-election-0a70161dba31a833fa75507a7484853b))
California officials have argued in court that the federal data are unreliable and that DOJ’s demands risk disenfranchising eligible voters and delaying certification. AP reports that voting by noncitizens is rare, difficult to prove, and has not been shown to alter election outcomes. Still, the federal government is pressing ahead with a statewide voter-roll fight while ballots are already being cast. Nothing says confidence in elections like tossing a bureaucratic smoke bomb into the counting room and asking everybody to act natural. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/california-department-of-justice-noncitizen-voting-election-0a70161dba31a833fa75507a7484853b))
Why It Matters
These are separate actions, but together they put federal power directly against state election officials at the sharp end of an active election: one lawsuit seeks to block certification in Alaska, while the California letters demand ballot handling and voter data on a two-day deadline. That deserves close scrutiny whether you’re wearing a campaign pin, a judge’s robe, or just living out of your car with a proper Italian sub and the radio on.
Sources
- Associated Press: Trump says he ordered Justice Department lawsuit over Alaska Senate race
- U.S. v. State of Alaska et al.: federal complaint filed October 22, 2026
- Associated Press: DOJ orders some California counties to verify ballots in 48 hours
- Associated Press: Justice Department charges more than two dozen in California voter-registration sweep
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Featured image: Judge Stephanie Rhoades.png by Stephanie Rhoades, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
