Dispute in Alaska gains legal chapter two days before US legislative elections

The Senate race in Alaska gained a legal development two days before the American legislative elections. The Department of Justice has asked a federal judge to suspend certification of the state's results if Democrat Mary Peltola wins, according to a Fox News report aired on Peter Doocy's program on the Fox Business channel.

On Friday, the Trump administration presented an additional request: that all ballots with votes for the so-called "Decoy Dan" ("Decoy Dan"), a nickname given to a candidate with a name similar to that of Republican senator Dan Sullivan, be separated. According to the report, a judge can decide at any time.

The state of Alaska responded on Saturday. He called the federal lawsuit "meritless" and wrote that the request is inappropriate and not even possible, given voters' right to vote secrecy. There is also a federal and state investigation into the alleged scheme, which the report described as a hoax.

Cross accusations

At a rally in Anchorage on Friday, Peltola again denied any involvement in the alleged scheme attributed to Sullivan. He said he is running to "dismantle the rigged system." Sullivan disagrees: according to him, her campaign rigged something, and he accuses her of one of the most corrupt actions possible.

The leader of the Republican caucus in the Senate, John Barrasso, went further in the interview. He cited a New York Times report with text messages that he said showed collusion at the highest level with the Democratic senatorial committee in Washington. It also claimed that Democrats attempted to find and fund a "fake Dan Sullivan", who has reportedly disappeared since publication. These are assessments by Barrasso and Sullivan, not facts proven in the transcript.

Doocy added that the FBI was leaving business cards for donors, trying to determine if they felt deceived, and that the Justice Department was trying to clarify whether anything illegal had occurred.

Early voting and control of the Senate

The dispute takes place amid a significant volume of early votes. The state of Alaska has already recorded 86,000 mail-in ballots. Nationally, the University of Florida's count shows 53 million early votes cast so far. Barrasso said he was encouraged by the number of Republicans who voted early and urged others to go to the polls.

The presenter himself noted that the polls are not promising for the Republicans, although many people attend Donald Trump's rallies, who held almost 30 events in the last month. Barrasso, who was in Iowa with the president, said he saw chances of winning seats in New Hampshire, Michigan and Minnesota. He attacked Democratic candidates in several states, in criticism of a partisan nature.

What to watch out for

The report does not deal with the financial market. For the investor, the central point is that control of the Senate remains in dispute and could be affected by a legal battle in Alaska. This matters for the tax, spending and regulation agenda in Washington, which usually influences stock markets, interest rates and the dollar. The outcome depends on the federal judge's decision and the results of the polls on Tuesday.

Automatically translated from Portuguese.