Key Facts

• Feldman said Alaska law assigns state election certification to the director of the Division of Elections.
• Feldman described a governor’s role in signing a senator-elect’s federal certificate as typically ministerial and said he knew of no Alaska governor who had refused to sign one.
• Dunleavy has not said unequivocally what Alaska would do if Democrat Mary Peltola wins while investigations involving candidate Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. remain active.
• The Justice Department is suing Alaska to block certification of certain results if Dan Sullivan loses, arguing that voters may have been confused by the similar names.
• President Donald Trump said he directed the Justice Department to bring the case.
• Alaska’s election calendar targets November 18 for ranked-choice tabulation and November 25 for certification; Election Day is November 3.
• Alaska uses ranked-choice voting: if no candidate receives a majority, the lowest-finishing candidate is eliminated and ballots transfer according to voters’ next preferences.
• Two polls cited in the article showed Peltola ahead of Sullivan by 2 or 3 points in head-to-head matchups.