On August 8, 2026, Dan Sullivan cast one of the 50 votes that confirmed Todd Blanche as attorney general. On October 22, 2026, Blanche's Justice Department asked a federal court to block the division from certifying the result of the state's U.S. Senate election in Alaska if Sullivan's Democratic opponent, Mary Peltola, wins. President Trump said he ordered the suit, and it is pending. Sullivan also voted to confirm Stanley Woodward, one of the lawyers who signed it.
Sullivan voted to confirm Harmeet Dhillon to run the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, which demanded states' full voter files; Alaska gave its full voter file to the DOJ and signed the department's confidential agreement. In June 2026 Sullivan said Democrats and the Peltola campaign were trying to "rig an election", and Alaska's News Source found that the evidence of coordination has not been independently established.
Dan Sullivan's Confirmation Votes and Statements on Voting Rights
- Sullivan Cast One of the 50 Votes for the Attorney General Whose Department Sued to Block Alaska's Count. On August 8, 2026, Dan Sullivan voted to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general; the vote was 50 to 49, so a no vote from Sullivan would have defeated him. On October 22, 2026, Blanche's department sued the Alaska Division of Elections seeking to block the division from certifying the result of the state's U.S. Senate election if Peltola wins, pending an inquiry into voter confusion over a second candidate named Sullivan. President Trump said, "I'm the one that said, 'do it'", and Notre Dame election law professor Derek Muller said "the legal argument is one of the worst ones I've ever seen". Peltola's campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee filed a motion to intervene and asked the court to dismiss the case, which was pending before Judge Sharon Gleason with no ruling reported as of October 25, 2026.
- Sullivan Voted to Confirm the Official Who Signed the Suit Against Alaska's Senate Count. On October 7, 2025, Sullivan voted to confirm Stanley Woodward as associate attorney general, as part of a group of nominees confirmed together. Woodward is one of the listed attorneys for the Department of Justice on the suit, and Peltola's campaign told the court that under it "Alaskans, apparently, must elect Senator Dan S. Sullivan or the President will not let them elect anyone at all".
- Sullivan Voted to Confirm Harmeet Dhillon, Whose Division Collected Alaskans' Voter Records. On April 3, 2025, Sullivan voted to confirm Harmeet Dhillon as assistant attorney general for civil rights, by 52 to 45. The staff of the division's voting section dwindled from approximately 30 lawyers down to about 6, and the division demanded full voter files from nearly every state; Alaska is among the at least 16 states that have provided complete statewide voter registration lists, including driver's license and Social Security numbers. On October 9, 2026, a federal judge ruled that the department's policy of running those lists through a Homeland Security database violates voter privacy and illegally intrudes on states' authority over elections.
- Sullivan Voted to Confirm the Officials Who Turned a Benefits Database Into a Voter Check. Sullivan voted to confirm Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary on January 25, 2025 and Joseph Edlow as director of the immigration services agency on July 15, 2025. Their agencies expanded the SAVE database to run bulk checks of voters, and DHS ran 49.5 million voter files through the SAVE program; in Boone County, Missouri, more than half of registered voters flagged by SAVE as noncitizens in November turned out to be citizens, the Brennan Center found.
- Sullivan Accused Democrats and the Peltola Campaign of Trying to "Rig an Election" Without Established Evidence. In June 2026 Sullivan told Fox News, "The Democrats in D.C., the Peltola campaign, are complicit in trying to trick Alaskans." He added that they were trying to "rig an election in their favor." Alaska's News Source reported that the evidence of direct coordination, if any exists, has not been independently established, and the Alaska Beacon reported that the Petersburg candidate says he is not linked to the Democratic Party or Peltola's campaign. The Justice Department's suit now relies on the same claim that the Petersburg candidacy was meant to confuse voters.
- Sullivan's Campaign Did Not Oppose the Suit to Block Alaska's Count. On October 23, 2026, Sullivan campaign spokesman Nate Adams told Alaska Public Media, "we'll let the DOJ complaint run its course". The suit concerns Sullivan's own race and seeks to stop Alaska from certifying the result if he loses.
What the Justice Department Under Officials Dan Sullivan Confirmed Means for Alaska Voters
- Voter file. Alaska is one of the states where officials gave their full voter files to the DOJ and signed the department's confidential agreement on how the data would be used.
- Ranked-choice ballot. Alaska's general election uses ranked-choice voting, so, the Alaska Beacon noted, any remaining confused voters could simply rank both Sullivans on the ballot.
Frequently Asked Questions About Dan Sullivan on Voting rights
What is Dan Sullivan's record on voting rights under Trump?
Dan Sullivan cast one of the 50 votes to confirm Todd Blanche, whose Justice Department sued to block certification of Alaska's Senate result if Sullivan's opponent wins, and voted to confirm Harmeet Dhillon, whose division collected complete statewide voter registration lists from Alaska and other states. He accused Democrats of trying to rig the election, a claim Alaska's News Source found has not been independently established.
Is the Justice Department trying to block Alaska's Senate election result?
Yes. Dan Sullivan voted to confirm Attorney General Todd Blanche, whose department sued on October 22, 2026 to stop Alaska from certifying the U.S. Senate result if Mary Peltola wins, and Sullivan's campaign said it would "let the DOJ complaint run its course". The case was pending before Judge Sharon Gleason as of October 25, 2026.
Did Alaska give its voter rolls to the Trump administration?
Yes. Dan Sullivan voted to put Harmeet Dhillon at the head of the Civil Rights Division (April 3, 2025), and Alaska is among at least 16 states that provided complete statewide voter registration lists, including driver's license and Social Security numbers, to that division. A federal judge ruled on October 9, 2026 that the department's policy of checking those lists against a Homeland Security database violates voter privacy.
Last updated: 2026-10-25