Peltola Campaign Sues Alaska Over Rejected Absentee Ballot Records

The campaign committee Alaskans for Mary filed suit in Alaska Superior Court, naming the state elections division, Lieutenant Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom and Elections Director Carol Beecher. It says withholding the records violates Alaska’s public-records law and seeks emergency court orders requiring their release. The requested information includes whether each returned absentee ballot was accepted or rejected and the reason for any rejection.

The campaign says it first sought the records from regional election offices on October 27, then made another request on November 4 with a deadline of 4 p.m. the following day. The state declined to provide them. Peltola’s team argues that access is needed to check whether eligible ballots, including those cast for the Democrat, were improperly rejected while counting and ballot reviews continue.

The state Department of Law said the records are preliminary, may change and are not yet available to affected voters. It said the Division has long treated them as confidential and that distributing them during ballot processing could add work and delay counting. The state plans to ask the court to keep the information protected.

More than 20% of votes remained uncounted as of Saturday morning, with Peltola at 48.2% and Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan at 47.9%, a gap of about 600 votes. Alaska accepts overseas ballots through November 18. If neither candidate wins a majority, ranked-choice tabulation is expected 15 days after the election.

Alaska Must Let Peltola Campaign Check Rejected Ballots

With the Alaska Senate contest separated by about 600 votes, the state is refusing to give Peltola’s campaign information it says is needed to identify eligible voters whose ballots may have been rejected. Alaskans for Mary has taken the Division of Elections and two state officials to court, asking for records showing whether absentee ballots were accepted or rejected and why.

The campaign says it requested the records on October 27 and followed up on November 4, but the state turned down its demand. Its suit argues that withholding the information prevents it from checking whether lawful votes, including votes for Peltola, were properly counted. The campaign is asking an Anchorage court to order the records released while ballot counting and reviews continue.

The state says the records are preliminary and could change, and argues that distributing them now would burden election workers and risk delaying the count. But those concerns leave voters and the campaign without the information Peltola’s team says it needs to help ensure eligible ballots are counted. More than 20% of votes remained uncounted as of Saturday morning, and overseas ballots can still arrive through November 18. The contest’s narrow margin makes timely scrutiny consequential.

Peltola Seeks Preliminary Ballot Records During Alaska Count

As Alaska election workers continue processing ballots in a close Senate race, Peltola’s campaign is asking a court to make the state release records it has long kept confidential. Alaskans for Mary sued the state elections division, Lieutenant Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom and Elections Director Carol Beecher, seeking the status of each returned absentee ballot and the reason for any rejection.

The state Department of Law says the records remain provisional, may be revised, and have not been provided to the voters concerned. It also warns that separately distributing the records could add work during ballot processing and delay the count. Those are practical concerns in an election where the tally is still underway, not proof that any eligible vote has been discarded.

Peltola’s campaign says access is necessary to verify that lawful ballots were counted and seeks emergency court orders compelling disclosure. The suit frames withheld records as an obstacle to oversight, but the state’s position is that existing safeguards and a completed count should not be disrupted by releasing changing information mid-process. With more than 20% of votes uncounted as of Saturday morning and overseas ballots accepted through November 18, election officials still have work to finish before the result is settled.