An Alaska Superior Court judge issued a ruling on November 11 that denies the campaign of former Representative Mary Peltola, a Democrat, its request for a detailed list of rejected absentee ballots. This legal development occurs while the state remains in the midst of a highly competitive and unresolved Senate race.
Judge Thomas Matthews wrote a 17 page decision stating that the Alaska Division of Election is currently occupied with processing ballots from the 2026 general election. The judge noted that the division simply lacks the operational capacity to generate the specific report from the voter registration database at the behest of the Peltola campaign at this moment.
In the ruling, Judge Matthews emphasized that such electronic services are permissive rather than mandatory. He argued that any request for these services must be reasonable. The judge concluded that even if the request might be considered reasonable outside of peak election season, it is neither reasonable nor required during the current busy period.
The judge further stated that because of the difficulty involved in disclosing records from the voter registration management system, the division of election is not required to release those specific records to the campaign at this time.
The Peltola campaign had previously filed court documents arguing that they could not ensure their supporters' lawful votes were properly counted without knowing whose absentee ballots were rejected or questioned and the reasons for those rejections. The campaign viewed this information as critical to verifying the integrity of the vote count.
Senator Dan Sullivan, the Republican incumbent and Peltola's opponent, had his campaign file a lawsuit to block her from accessing these records. The Sullivan campaign accused Peltola of once again attempting to rig the system in her favor, a claim that adds another layer of tension to the already contentious election.
The reference to rigging the system alludes to a recent report by The New York Times. The report alleged that a spoiler candidate sharing the same name as the incumbent Republican senator had ties to Peltola's campaign. Both Peltola and her team have denied these accusations, but they have fueled the current legal dispute.
Alaska's Senate race is the final contest in the state to be called as election officials transport ballots from remote areas. Under state rules, ballots can arrive up to 15 days after the election provided they are postmarked by Election Day. This timeline extends the period of uncertainty for all candidates and observers.
According to data reported by Decision Desk HQ, a partner of The Hill, Peltola held 48.63 percent of the vote as of Wednesday night. Senator Sullivan had 46.90 percent, while Republican candidate Gerald Heikes received 2.18 percent. A different candidate, Dan J. Sullivan Jr., notched approximately 1.65 percent of the vote.
The race has been the subject of significant litigation. The Justice Department filed a lawsuit to block the certification of the election if Sullivan lost, arguing that voters might be confused by the similar names of Dan S. Sullivan and Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. That specific case was eventually dismissed by a federal judge. Judge Matthews had also ruled in June that Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. could remain on the ballot despite objections from Republicans. President Trump, who has weighed in on the race repeatedly, has argued that all votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. should be given to the senator instead.
