Alaska’s Republican U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan’s campaign team filed a motion in court on Monday, seeking to intervene in a lawsuit brought by Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola. This lawsuit alleges that Peltola’s legal action aims to compel Alaska election officials to disregard state laws.
Prior to Sullivan’s campaign taking this action, Peltola’s team had initiated a lawsuit last Friday at the Anchorage Superior Court. This legal challenge calls for state election officials to release records related to rejected absentee ballots from the midterm elections, alongside the reasons for those rejections. The lawsuit names the state election office and pertinent officials as defendants.
In response, Sullivan’s campaign expressed opposition to these efforts, accusing Peltola’s team of attempting to alter the rules during the ballot counting process. To formally participate in the matter, Sullivan’s team submitted a motion to intervene, seeking to join the case as a third party.
The Alaska Department of Law, representing the state election office and election officials, indicated that the election office has historically regarded these election records as confidential. Furthermore, state law does not mandate the public release of these records.
According to Alaska law, election officials are not required to disclose whether an absentee ballot has been rejected until the election results are certified. Nonetheless, after every election concludes, the election office publishes a list detailing the number of rejected absentee ballots and the reasons behind those rejections. Voters whose ballots are rejected also receive a notification letter explaining the reasons for the rejection.
Typically, staff from the election office make a preliminary determination regarding whether to accept an absentee ballot, as some ballots may raise questions. The election office needs to verify whether voters who submitted mail-in absentee ballots also cast their votes in person at polling places.
The Alaska Department of Law further stated that complying with Peltola’s requests for initial information disclosure would impose an additional burden during the ballot processing period, potentially impacting timely counting. For many years, the election office has safeguarded this type of information and will seek court protection for these records.
As the U.S. Senate election in Alaska continues, the counting process remains ongoing. This election has become highly competitive. Additionally, Republicans have raised allegations that the Democratic Party has recruited a candidate who shares the same name as Senator Sullivan, intending to siphon votes away from the incumbent senator. This electoral contest has already ignited a series of investigations and lawsuits.
According to reports from the nonpartisan news organization Alaska Beacon, as of Monday at 4 PM, Peltola is leading Sullivan by 2,517 votes.