Peltola campaign sues for access to blocked Alaska absentee ballots

Democrat Mary Peltola’s Senate campaign sued Alaska election officials Friday, seeking records that would identify voters whose absentee ballots have been rejected as the state continues counting votes in one of the closest 2026 midterm races nationwide.Alaskans for Mary, Peltola’s campaign committee, filed the lawsuit in Alaska Superior Court in Anchorage against the Alaska Division of Elections, Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, and Director of Elections Carol Beecher, alleging the state violated the Alaska Public Records Act by withholding the records. The campaign wants the division’s absentee register showing whether each returned absentee ballot has been coded for acceptance or rejection, along with the reason for each rejection.The campaign is represented by the Anchorage firm Reeves Amodio and by Elias Law Group, the Democratic election law firm founded by attorney Marc Elias. The complaint asks a judge to declare that the campaign is entitled to the records, order the state to turn them over “without further delay,” and bar officials from obstructing or delaying access. It also seeks attorneys’ fees. The campaign separately asked for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to force the immediate release of the records, several outlets reported.According to the complaint, the campaign sent a written records request to each of the division’s five regional offices Oct. 27, a week before Election Day, and received no response. On Wednesday, Nov. 4, the day after the election, its lawyers sent a follow-up letter demanding the records by 4 p.m. Thursday and warning that they would treat any failure to produce them as a denial. The complaint says during a phone call and in emails Thursday, state attorneys declined to release the records immediately. The campaign argues that officials “constructively denied and obstructed” its request.“Plaintiff cannot ensure that its voters’ lawful votes were properly counted without knowing whose absentee ballots were rejected or questioned, and why,” the complaint says. With absentee counting and the review of questioned ballots already underway, the complaint argues, every day without the records “costs Plaintiff the opportunity to help ensure that qualified voters have their ballots counted.” In their demand letter, the campaign’s lawyers wrote that they want the records to “ensure that Peltola’s supporters are not unlawfully disenfranchised.”TRUMP SAYS VOTES FOR ‘FAKE DAN SULLIVAN’ AND OTHER ‘SLUG’ SHOULD BE GIVEN TO SEN. SULLIVANThe campaign contends the records are plainly public. In letters to the division attached to the complaint, its lawyers noted that Alaska law already lets observers appointed by candidates and parties watch absentee ballot review boards decide which ballots are accepted, and that state regulations allow “interested persons” to review the absentee register at regional election offices. The request, the letters said, seeks “nothing more than a written compilation of those public determinations.” The campaign said it is not seeking confidential voter information, such as birth dates, Social Security numbers, signatures, or ballot contents.The Alaska Department of Law, which represents the lieutenant governor and the elections division, said Friday that the campaign is seeking preliminary information the division has long treated as confidential and state law does not require it to release.In a statement, the department said the daily records show whether individual voters’ ballots are likely to be accepted or rejected before the determination is final and the voters themselves are notified. Authorized observers can view the records during the absentee review process under confidentiality agreements, but the division does not hand out copies or let observers keep them, the department said.Releasing the information as the campaign wants would add to the division’s workload during ballot processing and could slow the count, the department said, adding that the division will ask the court to keep the records protected.The Washington Examiner has reached out to the Peltola and Sullivan campaigns for comment.The dispute comes as Peltola clings to a narrow lead over Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan. As of Saturday, with about 74% of ballots counted, Peltola had 102,962 votes to Sullivan’s 102,325, a margin of 637 votes, according to the Associated Press. The gap had barely moved in more than a day.Thousands of ballots remain outstanding, including absentee ballots still arriving by mail and ballots being flown in from remote communities. The division is scheduled to release updated counts Nov. 10, 13, and 18, the deadline for district absentee and questioned ballot boards to certify their results. With neither candidate on pace to clear 50% of first-choice votes, the race is expected to go to a ranked-choice tabulation after the count closes.Peltola said Thursday on X, “The numbers are clear: when every vote is counted, Mary Peltola will be elected,” arguing that the uncounted early and absentee votes favor her. Sullivan has said he expects to keep the seat once all the votes are counted.The outcome will shape the size of the new Senate majority. Democrats won control of the chamber in Tuesday’s midterm elections, and the uncalled races in Alaska and Mississippi will decide how large that majority is.WHO WILL BE THE NEXT CONGRESSIONAL PARTY LEADERS?The Alaska race has been dogged by the candidacy of Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired Petersburg teacher who shares a name with the incumbent. A New York Times report alleged that Peltola campaign staff and Democratic operatives worked to get him on the ballot to siphon votes from the senator. Peltola has denied involvement, and the Alaska Supreme Court ruled this summer that the second Sullivan met all legal requirements to appear on the ballot.The Justice Department and the FBI are investigating. On Nov. 1, a federal judge dismissed a Justice Department lawsuit that sought to delay certification if Peltola won and to set aside ballots cast for the second Sullivan.