Why It Matters
Mary Peltola’s campaign is asking an Alaska court to require disclosure of the names of voters whose absentee ballots were rejected before election certification later this month. The request comes as the state continues processing absentee ballots.
What Happened
Alaskans For Mary filed the lawsuit Friday in Anchorage Superior Court against the Alaska Division of Elections, its director and Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom. The organization is the main group supporting Peltola’s challenge to incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan.
The campaign requested expedited consideration, an injunction and a temporary restraining order. It is seeking absentee-register accept-or-reject codes, along with documents identifying voters whose ballots were rejected and the reasons for those decisions.
Division of Elections staff make initial determinations on absentee ballots. Final decisions occur after Election Day, when the division checks whether absentee voters also voted at polling places. Multipartisan review boards had not yet resolved whether many ballots should be accepted or rejected.
Alaskans for Mary began seeking the information in October, before Election Day. State law does not require the division to release rejected-ballot information until after election certification.
The Alaska Department of Law, which represents the division in court, said releasing preliminary information could add work during ballot processing and delay the counting of votes. “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 department said.
By the Numbers
Friday — lawsuit filing date
later this month — requested disclosure timing before election certification
October — month the campaign began seeking absentee-ballot information
Nov. 18 — latest date Alaska allows absentee ballots to arrive
weeks after the final result is known — timing for rejected-ballot explanation letters
Zoom Out
The Division of Elections posts the number of rejected absentee ballots and the reasons for rejection after each election. Voters whose ballots are rejected receive explanatory letters weeks after the final result is known.
What’s Next
The court will consider the campaign’s requests for expedited review, an injunction and a temporary restraining order. The requested order could make the voter names available before election certification.