A judge rejected the DOJ's bid to segregate ballots and delay certification in Alaska's Senate race, ruling the government lacked standing and the move would violate voters' right to a secret ballot.

A federal judge on Sunday threw out the Justice Department’s lawsuit seeking to segregate ballots and delay certification of Alaska’s Senate race, the latest legal rebuke to a rash of Trump administration attempts to meddle in the 2026 midterms.

US District Judge Sharon Gleason said the federal government doesn’t have the standing to force Alaska to segregate ballots and that such a move would violate the right of voters to cast a secret ballot. Regardless, she added, it’s too late for the courts to force such a major change on the eve of an election.

The Trump administration in its suit argued the presence of a spoiler candidate with the same name as the GOP incumbent warranted a court-ordered investigation into the results if Sen. Dan S. Sullivan lost.