US midterms: namesake of Alaska senator on ballot and a probe in California

The US Justice Department is reported to have issued subpoenas after a report that the campaign of Alaska Democrat Mary Peltola worked with party operatives to put a challenger with the same name as Republican senator Dan Sullivan on the midterm ballot. The contest for Alaska's US Senate seat has turned into a legal dispute.

The tactic is known as ballot stacking: adding other candidates to the ballot to draw votes away from an opponent. It is not illegal. Even so, the US president and the Justice Department have filed a lawsuit in advance seeking to block certification of the Senate results if the incumbent senator loses.

Investigation in California

The Trump administration has opened a criminal investigation in California over claims that thousands of noncitizens are registered to vote. Donald Trump has repeatedly called California's elections "corrupt" and "rigged". Some employees of the Los Angeles county registrar-recorder's office received grand jury subpoenas, which the office confirmed.

Corruption as a top issue

According to an exclusive Harris poll for the Guardian, an overwhelming majority of Americans say US government officials use public office for personal financial gain. Three-quarters of voters said they believed elected officials cared more about enriching themselves than about improving the economy for ordinary people.

Ohio governor's race

Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican nominee for Ohio governor, confirmed that his campaign pulled an attack ad featuring Donna Arthur, the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton. The decision followed strong public backlash over the revelation that Arthur lost custody of Acton in 1978, after Arthur's second husband was charged with repeatedly raping the child.