What's going on with Dan Sullivan and Dan Sullivan? The Alaska Senate litigation, explained

… <p>Republicans think the presence of Daniel J. Sullivan is a Democratic dirty trick. But Daniel J. Sullivan, who lives in the tiny fishing community of Petersburg, says he is running of his own accord. </p><p>Alaskan voters will see “Dan S. Sullivan” identified as a “registered Republican” and “incumbent” on their ballots, while “Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.” will not have a party affiliation. Former Rep. Mary Peltola is the Democratic candidate.</p><p>So the Trump administration is filing in federal court to try to block certification of the election if its Dan Sullivan — the senator — loses.</p><p>“Should Alaska certify any electoral results tainted by the inclusion on the ballot of Daniel J. Sullivan,” the lawsuit said, “the State and its officers will fail in its obligation to protect the integrity of its election.”</p><p>Trump said of the lawsuit: “I’m the one who said do it.”</p> <h2>Will this work?</h2><p>The lawsuit is essentially a placeholder and only becomes an issue after Election Day if the incumbent loses.</p><p>Even if that happens, legal experts say it has no chance of success. The suit cites a clause in the preamble to the National Voter Registration Act that says states must “protect the integrity” of elections. It says that gives federal courts grounds to overturn elections which, under the U.S. Constitution, are entirely state affairs. But that vague turn of phrase probably isn’t enough for any judge to try to overrule the will of the voters, experts say.</p><p>Technically, the lawsuit only asks the court to block certification until an investigation determines whether enough voters were fooled by the two Sullivans to have swung the election. It doesn’t explain how that would happen, which seems like a big issue given that votes are supposed to be confidential.</p> …