Peltola Campaign Sues Alaska Over Rejected Absentee Ballot Records

The campaign of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mary Peltola sued the Alaska Division of Elections on Friday in Anchorage Superior Court, seeking to make public the names of Alaskans whose absentee ballots have been rejected.

The suit was filed by Alaskans for Mary and names the Division of Elections, its director Carol Beecher, and Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom as defendants. The campaign is requesting an injunction and temporary restraining order that could expose the names before the election is certified later this month.

The Lawsuit

According to the complaint, the Peltola campaign filed a public records request seeking "a copy of the absentee register showing the accept or reject code for each absentee ballot … or any other documents sufficient to show the identities of voters whose absentee ballots … have been rejected as well as the reasons for each rejection."

The campaign said in a statement, "We are confident that Mary will win this race. The campaign is ensuring transparency, timeliness, and accuracy as the counting process continues and every Alaskan’s voice is heard."

The lawsuit states, "Plaintiff cannot ensure that its voters’ lawful votes were properly counted without knowing whose absentee ballots were rejected or questioned, and why."

The State's Response

The Alaska Department of Law, which is representing the Division of Elections, said the campaign is "seeking access to preliminary absentee ballot information that the Division of Elections has long treated as confidential and that Alaska law does not require the Division to release."

The Department of Law added, "Releasing preliminary information in the manner sought by the lawsuit would create additional burdens during ballot processing and could delay the timely counting of votes. The Division has protected this information for years and will ask the court to protect it too."

The Race

Peltola leads incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan by 637 votes, with more than 215,000 ballots counted so far. The elections division is still waiting to count tens of thousands of ballots, some of which have not yet been received. The winner of the race may not be known until Nov. 18, when ranked choice tabulation is scheduled to take place, and the race’s certification is set for Nov. 25.

The Sullivan campaign did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

Why it matters

The lawsuit could affect how quickly the Senate race is resolved and whether voters whose absentee ballots were rejected have an opportunity to address the issue before certification. The state argues that releasing preliminary records would burden ballot processing and delay vote counting.

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Sources

• alaskabeacon.com: Peltola campaign sues Alaska, seeking to reveal the names of rejected absentee voters | Alaska Beacon
• adn.com: Peltola campaign sues Alaska election officials, seeking data about absentee ballots that may be rejected - Anchorage Daily News
• newscord.org: Mary Peltola Campaign Sues Alaska Election Officials for Rejected Absentee Ballot Records: how 6 outlets framed it | NewsCord
• democracydocket.com: Peltola campaign sues Alaska for information on rejected mail ballots - Democracy Docket

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.