Mary Peltola Files Lawsuit to Secure Rejected Ballot Data Amid Tight Alaska Race

The campaign of Democrat Mary Peltola filed a lawsuit against the state of Alaska to obtain records of rejected absentee ballots.

The court filing alleges that the Division of Elections denied the campaign’s requests for this data on multiple occasions. The campaign contends it requires these records to verify that valid votes are included in the final count. The lawsuit notes that the plaintiff cannot confirm if lawful votes were counted without knowing whose ballots were rejected and why. The filing argues that every hour the defendants withhold the information reduces the campaign’s ability to help ensure qualified voters have their ballots counted.

The legal dispute is occurring while Peltola holds a lead of just over 600 votes over Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan. Roughly 30 percent of the vote remains uncounted, and no winner had been projected as of Saturday morning. The Division of Elections issued a release on Friday to push back against the suit. The agency stated that voters whose ballots were rejected have not yet received the information themselves. Consequently, the division argued that the campaign should not receive the data yet. The release claimed that releasing preliminary information in the manner sought by the lawsuit would create additional burdens during ballot processing. It added that such a move could delay the timely counting of votes.

This is not the only litigation affecting the race. The Trump administration previously sued to block certification of the election if Sullivan loses. That suit argued that the presence of a candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. on the ballot could confuse voters. A judge dismissed that case before Election Day, though the administration pledged to appeal.

Counting in Alaska is expected to continue for several more days. Ballots arriving from outside the country can be accepted up to 15 days after the election as long as they were postmarked by Election Day. Additional results do not have to be reported until Nov. 10, though the state may release them incrementally before then. Final totals are due by Nov. 18.

If no candidate finishes above 50 percent, which is the current situation, Alaska will decide the race through an instant runoff under its ranked choice voting system. The last-place candidate is eliminated, and that candidate’s supporters have their second, third, and fourth choices redistributed. This process repeats until one candidate holds a majority.

A Peltola victory would mark the eighth Senate seat flipped by Democrats following a strong performance on Tuesday night. Ballots are also still being tallied in Mississippi’s Senate contest, where Democrat Scott Colom leads incumbent Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith.