Dems, voting-rights groups challenge bid to block Alaska certification

Key Points:

• Democratic groups, including Alaskans for Mary and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, seek to join a federal lawsuit challenging the Justice Department's effort to block Alaska from certifying its U.S. Senate election results if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses.
• The lawsuit, personally ordered by former President Donald Trump, targets confusion between incumbent Sen. Daniel S. Sullivan and a similarly named challenger, Daniel J. Sullivan, aiming to investigate voter intent and potentially prevent certification.
• The Democratic groups argue the DOJ lacks legal authority to intervene in state election administration and that the lawsuit threatens to disenfranchise voters and disrupt Alaska's ranked-choice election process.
• Bipartisan backlash has emerged, including from Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who criticized the DOJ's lawsuit as inappropriate, while legal experts question the DOJ's reliance on the National Voter Registration Act as unfounded.
• The Democratic groups and voting-rights organizations like the League of Women Voters and Common Cause seek court permission to intervene as defendants and plan to move to dismiss the lawsuit to protect election integrity and voter representation.