President Donald Trump greets Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, at a campaign rally at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center on Oct. 13 in Wasilla. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

The Trump administration’s Department of Justice filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking to stop Alaska officials from certifying the results of the U.S. Senate race if Sen. Dan S. Sullivan loses his reelection bid, and calling for an investigation into whether votes cast for a namesake challenger were intended for the incumbent.

With early voting already underway in the Nov. 3 general election, the lawsuit could create a legal hurdle if Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola defeats the Republican senator in the closely watched race.

The race for Alaska’s Senate seat is seen as one of a few battleground contests that could determine whether Democrats flip control of the chamber.

The lawsuit alleges that the presence of retired Petersburg educator Dan J. Sullivan, a Republican who shares the same first and last name as the incumbent, on the ballot “threatens to mislead Alaskan citizens who want to vote for Senator Sullivan.”

Peltola finished eight points ahead of the incumbent Sullivan in the primary, garnering 49.5% of the vote compared to Sullivan’s 41.4%. Polling ahead of the general election indicates the contest between the two front-runners may be a toss-up. The Petersburg Sullivan received 2.5% of the vote in the primary.

Republican President Donald Trump told reporters Friday morning that he directed the Department of Justice to file the suit. While Peltola’s campaign accused Sullivan of designing the suit as a last-ditch effort to sway the results in his favor, Sullivan’s campaign said they had “no prior knowledge of this lawsuit and no role in it.”

Attorneys from Alaska and Outside have questioned the lawsuit’s legal basis, arguing that an investigation into voters’ intent after an election would be impractical and that the complaint’s reliance on the preamble of the National Voter Registration Act is weak.

Scott Kendall, an attorney who has supported Alaska’s ranked choice voting system among other election-related issues, said on social media: “If a 1st year law student handed this to me, I’d give it a D-.”

The lawsuit asserts that if Sen. Sullivan were to lose the general election, and “had all votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan been cast instead for Senator Sullivan and Alaska’s rank-choice process played out accordingly, Senator Sullivan would have won the election,” that the Alaska Division of Elections must not certify the election results “pending an investigation to determine whether votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan were meant to be cast for Senator Sullivan.”

Whether the Petersburg Sullivan should be allowed to appear on the ballot has already been affirmed in state courts. The Alaska Supreme Court ruled that Dan J. Sullivan is eligible to appear on the ballot, rejecting an appeal by the director of the state Division of Elections, who previously declared that the namesake challenger filed for candidacy “with a purpose to confuse or mislead.”

The Petersburg Sullivan has maintained that he is running for the seat because he believes the incumbent has not done a good job of serving Alaskans or representing their interests.

Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher and Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, poses for a photograph outside his home in Petersburg on Sept. 22. (Loren Holmes photo)

The Division of Elections determined how the candidates would appear on the ballot. The incumbent is listed as “Sullivan, Dan S.” with the label “(Registered Republican) Incumbent.“ His namesake challenger is listed as “Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr.,” with no labeled party affiliation.

The lawsuit is set to be assigned to a federal judge in Alaska who will decide how to proceed with the case.

The lawsuit names Alaska Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher, in her official capacity, as a defendant as well as the state election and ballot-counting review boards. The lawsuit sets up the state of Alaska, which previously argued that the Petersburg Sullivan’s candidacy was not in good faith, to choose whether to defend the federal government’s calls not to certify election results if Sen. Dan S. Sullivan does not prevail.

State Department of Law spokesman Sam Curtis said in a statement Friday that “the Division of Elections and the Department of Law are focused on running the ongoing election and giving voter’s confidence that their votes will count. This also includes assisting voters and avoiding voter confusion — whether through the information in the Official Election Pamphlet, asking questions of a poll worker, or bringing others to assist you with voting as permitted by law.

“The complaint is being reviewed, and we do not have any comment on the litigation,” Curtis said in the statement.

The Petersburg Sullivan said in a text message Friday that he had “no comment for now.”

‘One of the most frivolous lawsuits’

Jonathan Diaz, director of voting advocacy and partnerships at Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan organization based in Washington, D.C., said the filing was among “the most frivolous lawsuits” he had ever seen.

“The Department of Justice — which is supposed to represent all Americans, all of us — filing a lawsuit less than two weeks before Election Day, trying to block election results that haven’t even happened yet is so crazy, and is reflective of this administration’s overall approach to the midterm elections, and consistent with a pattern of behavior that that they’ve undertaken over the last year and a half, that shows a total disregard for the Constitution, the law, American democracy and voters,” Diaz said.

The lawsuit’s call for an investigation into voters’ intent is particularly unusual, Diaz said.

“The expression of a voter’s intent is the ballot itself. You cannot then go back and look at a ballot and decide if the voter intended something else. That’s just not how voting works,” Diaz said.

During his campaign visit to Alaska to stump for Sen. Sullivan last week, President Donald Trump called Dan J. Sullivan a sham candidate propped up by Democrats to confuse voters.

Sen. Dan Sullivan speaks at a rally for Republicans headlined by President Donald Trump at the Menard Memorial Sports Complex in Wasilla on Oct. 13. (Bill Roth / ADN)

Trump has repeatedly criticized the challenger on social media. Earlier this week, he wrote that his administration was “looking at powerful legal options to remove the fraudulent Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. from the Ballot.”

He told reporters on Friday that the lawsuit was filed at his directive.

“I’m the one that said do it,” Trump said.

U.S. Senate candidates respond

A spokesperson for the Sullivan campaign, Nate Adams, said that the campaign played no role in the lawsuit.

“We’ll let the DOJ complaint run its course. Alaskans can tell the difference between a Democrat sideshow and Senator Sullivan’s strong record of delivering for Alaska, a record he’ll keep building on for the next six years,” Adams said.

Peltola’s campaign spokesperson, Harry Child, asserted that the suit was a political machination by the incumbent.

“This is a despicable political threat to overturn an election, designed by Senator Dan Sullivan’s allies to suppress the voices of Alaskans because Sullivan is terrified he’ll lose the seat that has allowed him to enrich himself at Alaskans’ expense for over a decade. We will fight to ensure every single eligible voter in Alaska can make their voice heard and that no bureaucrat or politician from the Lower 48 can interfere with our lawful, secure elections,” Child said in a text message Friday morning.

Mary Peltola speaks to Alaska Public Media staff before the start of the Debate for the State against her Senate opponent Dan Sullivan, left, in Anchorage on Oct. 15. (Marc Lester / ADN)

Eric Croft, chair of the Alaska Democratic Party, echoed the response from the Peltola campaign.

“Dan Sullivan is scared he’ll lose and that’s why he’s looking to any corrupt, desperate method to win. But let’s be clear: Alaska voters decide Alaska elections. Not politicians, and not anyone from the Lower 48. Every vote will be counted, and Alaskans will make their voices heard at the ballot box in a free and fair election,” Croft said.

‘The entire world is watching’ Alaska’s Senate race

The Division of Elections plans to release initial tabulated results on Nov. 18. In the weeks between Election Day and the first set of tabulated results, officials will release preliminary results showing first-place votes, before the ranked choice voting tabulation is completed.

State Rep. Andrew Gray, an Anchorage Democrat who serves as chair of the House Judiciary Committee, said he is concerned that if control of the Senate hinges on Alaska’s race, the wait for results could invite further legal challenges and more federal scrutiny.

“The entire world is watching, and it’s just two weeks for the president to spiral more out of control,” said Gray.

Gray said he believes the lawsuit falls outside federal jurisdiction.

“Our elections are state controlled; they are not federally controlled, and really, President Donald Trump’s opinions of what should or shouldn’t happen in our elections should not matter,” Gray said. “And I hope that the folks in charge understand that and stand up to him because that’s what it’s going to require.”

Asked in hindsight whether Dan J. Sullivan should have entered the race, given the legal challenges his candidacy has prompted, Gray said he supports the challenger’s right to run.

“The controversy and chaos has been manufactured. It is not something that was caused by Dan J. Sullivan. He had a right to run. He had a right to file. He has a right to be on the ballot,” Gray said.

Daily News reporters Alex DeMarban and Iris Samuels contributed from Anchorage.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.