On November 6, a legal battle has arisen in Alaska, as the campaign team of Mary Peltola, the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, has filed a lawsuit demanding immediate disclosure of voter information regarding absentee ballots that were rejected by the state’s election office.
Peltola’s campaign group, “Alaskans for Mary,” has taken this issue to the Anchorage Superior Court. The legal action seeks to require state election officials to publicly release the records related to denied absentee ballots from this year’s midterm elections, along with the reasons behind those rejections. Named as defendants in the lawsuit are the state election office, Lieutenant Governor Nancy Dahlstrom, and Election Director Carol Beecher.
According to the campaign team, they had previously filed a request under the Alaska Public Records Act on October 27 to obtain these records. After a follow-up request on November 1, they still received no response, leading the election office to deny their request for immediate access to the relevant records.
In addition to seeking records, the plaintiffs have also requested the court to issue a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to compel election officials to immediately disclose these records. They argue that time is of the essence due to the ongoing process of ballot counting and certification of election results.
The lawsuit underscores the urgency of the situation, stating that without timely access to the relevant records, the campaign team would be unable to oversee whether the ballots were counted accurately. They also raised concerns about potential improper rejection of ballots by the state election office, as alleged in their complaint.
As the lawsuit was being filed, Alaska’s federal senatorial election remained in the counting phase, showcasing a highly competitive race. As of Friday evening, with approximately 75% of the ballots already tallied, Peltola was leading with a narrow margin of just over 600 votes, garnering 48.17% of the vote, while her Republican opponent, incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan, trailed closely at 47.88%.
The close call between these candidates indicates that the final outcome may hinge on absentee ballots that have yet to be delivered, as well as ballots flown in from remote communities. Alaska allows absentee ballots to be submitted up to 15 days after Election Day, meaning that the counting process will not conclude until November 18.
At present, the Democratic Party holds 54 out of the 100 seats in the United States Senate, following a successful Election Day on Tuesday. However, the two seats in Alaska and Mississippi remain uncertain.
In response to the lawsuit, the Alaska Department of Law has represented the Lieutenant Governor and the state election office, stating in a press release that the election office has long considered these election records to be confidential. Furthermore, they assert that Alaska law does not mandate the disclosure of these records.
Election office staff performs an initial assessment on whether to accept an absentee ballot, but the final determination is typically not made until after Election Day. This is due to the need for the election office to verify if voters who submitted absentee ballots also turned up to vote in person.
The task of reviewing absentee ballots falls under the jurisdiction of the election review committee, which comprises members from various political parties.
According to Alaska law, the state election office is not required to disclose whether an absentee ballot was rejected until the election results are certified.
Once elections conclude, the election office publishes a report listing the number of rejected absentee ballots along with the reasons for rejections. Voters whose ballots are denied also receive notification letters explaining the reason behind the rejection.
However, it could take several weeks after the final election results are announced for the state election office to release this information or to send it to the affected voters.
The Alaska Department of Law emphasized that releasing preliminary information in the manner demanded by the lawsuit could impose an additional burden during the ballot processing period, potentially impacting the timeliness of the vote counting. The election office has protected such information for many years and intends to request the court to continue safeguarding it.