Alaska News Briefs

Election Day: the DOJ's suit is dismissed and its appeal pending — but no order pausing the vote

Tuesday, November 3, 2026

POLITICS · POLICY · ECONOMY · MILITARY · ARCTIC RELATIONS

Top story: Election Day arrives with the DOJ's suit dismissed and its appeal pending

Alaska votes today. The closing-week legal fight that dominated the campaign ended Sunday, November 1, when U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Gleason dismissed the Justice Department's lawsuit seeking to delay certification of the U.S. Senate result if Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan narrowly loses — and the DOJ appealed to the Ninth Circuit the same day. As polls open across the state this morning, no court has issued an order pausing or blocking the election: voting proceeds under the ordinary rules.

Gleason found she had no authority to grant the government's preemptive request and no feasible way to run a post-election investigation of voter intent while preserving ballot secrecy, warning that prolonging the count would itself sow confusion and undermine confidence. "Simply, the Court cannot grant the United States the relief it seeks," she wrote. She rested the decision on that infeasibility — and, per earlier reporting, on the government's lack of standing — declining to reach the DOJ's National Voter Registration Act theory, which legal experts had called "thin." The department appealed within hours to the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco, arguing the judge had disposed of the case on procedural grounds without addressing its claim that a second candidate, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., entered the race to confuse voters. "Alaskan voters deserve a fair election, not to be misled in an attempt to rig outcomes," the DOJ posted on X.

Why it matters: the civil suit was the only mechanism that could have delayed certification before votes are counted, and it is now dismissed. The appeal is docketed, but no stay or injunction has been reported granted, so nothing stands in the way of today's vote.

What to watch: whether the Ninth Circuit acts on any emergency motion before counting begins — an appeal now faces the same clock that defeated the underlying suit — and whether DOJ seeks expedited review.

The certification question moves from the courtroom to the governor's desk

With the federal injunction off the table, the remaining lever over the result is a state one. Gov. Mike Dunleavy has ordered his own investigation and said earlier that if wrongdoing is found, certification "then is stopped or changed." Peltola's campaign has cast that posture as a "threat to overrule the will of Alaska voters" and, in a closing statement, said "Alaskans will choose their next U.S. Senator – not Dan Sullivan or his DC allies." Sen. Sullivan told CNN on Sunday he expected to lose "a lot of votes to that trickery" and doubted Peltola's denials — "There is no way this went on for a year that they weren't informing her" — but said that if he loses, "I'm going to accept the election results." Sen. Lisa Murkowski has publicly knocked the DOJ for suing over an election result.

Why it matters: a federal court has now said the result cannot be blocked before it is counted, so any certification fight shifts to Dunleavy and the state canvass — a process with its own legal guardrails and a ballot-preservation window already in law.

What to watch: whether Dunleavy's state investigation produces anything before the canvass, and whether he follows through on conditioning certification, which would open a second, state-court front.

The part that survives: a criminal probe the ruling does not touch

The dismissal ends the civil case but not the separate criminal investigation, which runs on its own track. Federal prosecutors have recently issued dozens of subpoenas and record-preservation notices for text messages and other communications tied to the circumstances of Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.'s candidacy. The probe follows a New York Times report alleging a Democratic effort — said to involve Peltola's campaign — to recruit the second Daniel J. Sullivan onto the ballot to split the incumbent's vote. Both Peltola and the second Sullivan deny wrongdoing: Peltola says she had no involvement, and Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. maintains his candidacy is legitimate.

Why it matters: the criminal track can run for months and charge individuals, but it cannot by itself halt the tabulation or certification of today's result.

What to watch: whether the investigation produces any charge, and whether Attorney General Todd Blanche acts on President Trump's call to prosecute.

What's actually on the ballot: three races inside the margin, and the voting system itself

Beneath the legal drama, the ballot is tight. Recent polling put all three statewide races inside two points: Peltola narrowly over Sullivan in the Senate, Nick Begich narrowly over independent Bill Hill in the U.S. House, and Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins over Republican Bernadette Wilson for the open governorship. Prediction markets have been more lopsided — Kalshi traders put Peltola at 72% and Sullivan at 28% as of November 1, with the second Sullivan under 1% — though the Senate contest remains one of the few races that could decide control of the chamber. Alaskans vote under ranked choice while also deciding whether to keep it: Ballot Measure 2 would repeal ranked-choice voting and the open primary, and Ballot Measure 3 would add the word "only" to the voter-eligibility clause. Live results will post to state and tracker feeds tonight.

Why it matters: the four-candidate, same-name ballot at the center of the dismissed lawsuit is the very open system Measure 2 asks voters to end — and ranked choice is also one of the state's answers to the "confusion" claim, since a voter can rank the intended Sullivan.

What to watch: whether the closing-week allegations become a late argument for Measure 2, and the first- and second-choice math in the legislative races tonight.

Economy & Energy: carried forward — a March federal Cook Inlet lease sale; the winter supply crunch still the ground truth

The energy file is unchanged this edition. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is still set to open bids March 4 on roughly 1 million acres of federal Cook Inlet waters — the first of six federal sales the 2025 budget law requires by 2032 — with the state offering acreage the same day; the last federal Cook Inlet sale drew a single bid, so interest remains the open question. None of that changes this winter's math: the Railbelt supply crunch, with Cook Inlet's gas shortage showing up as Fairbanks' diesel bill, and the hundreds of millions in federal funding announced for Alaska as the election neared remain the backdrop.

Why it matters: a March lease sale is a 2027-and-beyond answer to a shortage households feel now.

What to watch: whether the sale draws bids, and whether any heating-assistance release lands before deep winter.

Military & Arctic Relations: a quiet flight line, no net-new development

The Arctic security file is quiet this cycle. The Denali Commission continues to manage $115 million to prepare Adak for possible "episodic" military use — grid, airport and munitions-survey work — without committing to permanently station personnel, so a full return stays unguaranteed even after NORTHCOM's commander recommended reopening the base. The baseline tempo continues in the background: NORAD periodically tracking Russian military aircraft in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone, and the Coast Guard monitoring Russian and Chinese naval activity near the Aleutians. No new intercept or incursion was reported this edition.

Previous News Briefs and Archive:

NOTUS: Trump Is Quietly Planning to Majorly Change How National Parks Are Run All Interior Department bureaus are considering major shake-ups under an edict from leadership.

Alaska holds the largest share of National Park Service land in the nation with more than 50 million acres.

"Two Dan Sullivans" set to share the U.S. Senate ballot

As the Aug. 18 primary count is finalized, Alaska's marquee U.S. Senate race is heading to November with a wrinkle that could scramble the outcome. Three candidates have locked in general-election slots: Democrat Mary Peltola (about 48%), Republican incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan (about 43%), and — in a twist — a second Republican named Dan J. Sullivan, a first-time candidate from Petersburg whom state Republicans have taken to calling “Decoy Dan” out of concern that voters will confuse the two names on the ballot. The challenger insists he is not trying to deceive anyone, saying his frustration with the incumbent “just sort of hit harder” because they share a name.

The fourth and final ballot spot remained too close to call, with Democrat David Leslie and Republican Gerald Heikes separated by roughly two dozen votes in preliminary results. The contest has already drawn more than $30 million in spending and is rated one of only four true toss-ups nationally, with Senate control potentially in the balance. A Peltola win would make her the first Alaska Native woman in the U.S. Senate.

POLITICS

Governor's race — Democrats lead, and talk of consolidating the field

With the open-seat governor's race (Gov. Dunleavy is term-limited) now set for a ranked-choice general, Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins leads the pack coming out of the 17-candidate primary, with fellow Democrat Tom Begich also advancing and Republicans Bernadette Wilson and Dave Bronson taking the remaining top-four slots. Top candidates are publicly weighing whether to consolidate the field before November — a recognition that a split vote under ranked-choice voting could prove decisive. Expect coordination, endorsements, and possible withdrawals to be a running storyline into the fall.

POLICY · LEGISLATURE

Gasline compromise dies — third failed special session

Gov. Dunleavy's LNG/gasline compromise — which would have swapped the petroleum property tax for a tax on piped gas, capped in-state gas costs, and added a 2% corporate income tax on certain oil and gas firms — is now effectively dead, the third special session of 2026 devoted to pipeline taxation to end without action. Opposition was broad: the Alaska Chamber and business groups, oil producer Hilcorp (citing higher production costs), and both House caucuses. Senate President Gary Stevens questioned whether 2% was adequate and said the matter should be “turned over to the new governor”; Speaker Bryce Edgmon reiterated “the votes just aren't there.” Neither chamber plans to reconvene, leaving the gasline's tax framework to the next legislature and governor in January.

ECONOMY · ENERGY

Federal push meets uneven market appetite

Federal policy continues to tilt toward an Alaska oil-and-gas surge, but market appetite is uneven. The 2026 ANWR Coastal Plain lease sale drew only about $3.7 million in winning bids, with major oil and gas companies staying on the sidelines even as the federal government moved to limit legal and regulatory obstacles to leasing in the refuge.

MILITARY · ARCTIC DEFENSE

Polar Dagger 26 continues across the Bering Strait region

Polar Dagger 26 continues across the Bering Strait region and western Alaska coast through the end of August, with Nome as the logistics hub. U.S. Special Operations Command North (SOCNORTH) — including Naval Special Warfare operators — is running the homeland-defense exercise across air, land, and maritime domains at more simultaneous sites than the past two years.

ARCTIC · INTERNATIONAL

Alaska stays central to a sharpening Arctic security debate

Sen. Dan Sullivan has been pressing Arctic security themes — Russia-China joint incursions near U.S. airspace and waters and a “historic” Coast Guard icebreaker build-up. Analysts continue to weigh renewed Arctic diplomacy (including the fallout from this year's Trump–Putin Alaska summit) against persistent U.S.–Russia–China friction. Alaska's geography — its proximity to Russia and command of the Bering Strait approaches — keeps it at the heart of both the deterrence posture and any diplomatic opening.

Sources: Alaska Public Media, Anchorage Daily News, The Hill, Newsweek, Alaska Beacon, World Oil, High North News, Army Recognition, KNOM, Sen. Dan Sullivan's office, The Arctic Institute, Quincy Institute. Compiled automatically from public reporting on August 21, 2026.

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