A federal judge on Sunday dismissed a Justice Department lawsuit filed by the Trump administration that sought to prevent Alaska from certifying its U.S. Senate election results if Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan loses to Democrat Mary Peltola.

U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason, an Obama appointee, ruled that the federal government lacked jurisdiction and failed to provide a workable plan for segregating ballots cast for independent candidate Dan J. Sullivan. The order came two days before Election Day in a race that could determine Senate control.

The lawsuit alleged potential voter confusion because the two Sullivans share similar names. It asked the court to set aside ballots for the non-incumbent Sullivan and allow an investigation into whether voters intended to support the GOP senator. State officials and Peltola's campaign countered that the request was infeasible after early voting had begun and would violate the secret ballot.

Gleason wrote that the relief sought was "infeasible" and offered "no workable plan" for segregating ballots while preserving voter privacy. She noted that ballots had already been mixed, making individual identification impossible without breaching secrecy protections.

President Trump had publicly stated he directed the filing of the case last week. The Justice Department indicated it plans to appeal to the Ninth Circuit, though any review may occur after polls close.

The race features ranked-choice voting and has drawn national attention amid polling that shows Peltola with a slight edge. Democrats have faced accusations of recruiting the similarly named candidate to siphon votes from the incumbent. The dismissed suit represented the administration's latest effort to safeguard election integrity against what officials described as deliberate confusion tactics.

Sen. Sullivan has stated he will accept the certified results regardless of the outcome.