ANCHORAGE, ALASKA — Democrat Mary Peltola’s Senate campaign sued Alaska election officials Friday seeking immediate access to records identifying rejected absentee ballots as her race against Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan remains separated by roughly 600 votes.
The campaign says it requested the records under Alaska’s Public Records Act on Oct. 27 and again after Election Day but was denied immediate access. It wants the names of voters whose absentee ballots were rejected and the reasons for rejection, arguing that without the information it cannot determine whether lawful ballots were improperly excluded.
Alaska officials say the records are preliminary and historically treated as confidential while ballot processing continues. The state argues that releasing them now could burden election workers and interfere with counting.
Importantly, the lawsuit does not establish that any ballots were wrongly rejected. It seeks information that could allow the campaign to contact affected voters or challenge individual decisions if problems are found.
The dispute comes as Alaska continues accepting absentee ballots from remote communities through Nov. 18. If neither Peltola nor Sullivan reaches 50% of first-choice votes, the state will conduct its ranked-choice tabulation that day.
The race is one of only two unresolved U.S. Senate contests, alongside Mississippi.
Sources:
Discover more from News Facts Network
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
