Mary Peltola’s campaign has taken Alaska election officials to court in an attempt to obtain records identifying rejected absentee ballots, as a closely contested US Senate race remains undecided.
The legal action, filed on Friday 6 November, centres on access to election records rather than a proven error in the vote count. Peltola, a Democrat and former US representative, was ahead of Republican incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan by roughly 600 first-choice votes in the latest widely reported count. Tens of thousands of ballots were still outstanding or awaiting processing.
Her campaign argues that knowing which absentee ballots have been rejected, and why, is essential to checking the count. Alaska officials say the records are preliminary, contain personal information and should not be released in the form requested while ballot reviews are continuing.
What is Peltola’s campaign asking for?
The case, Alaskans for Mary v. Dahlstrom, was filed in Anchorage Superior Court against Alaska’s Division of Elections, Lieutenant Governor Nancy Dahlstrom and Elections Director Carol Beecher. The campaign requested expedited court consideration and an order compelling disclosure of absentee ballot information.
According to the complaint, the campaign requested the absentee register from regional election offices on 27 October, before Election Day. It sought accept-or-reject codes for absentee ballots, or equivalent records identifying whose ballots were rejected and the reasons. After the 3 November election, lawyers renewed their request on 4 November and pressed for a prompt response.
The campaign maintains that the Alaska Public Records Act entitles it to the information and that a delay could prevent it from checking whether eligible ballots were excluded. It has asked for a temporary restraining order and injunctive relief to secure access while counting is under way.
The claim is about the timing and availability of records. It does not establish that election officials have rejected any ballot unlawfully, and the court has not been asked through this complaint to award the Senate seat to either candidate.
Why does Alaska say the information is confidential?
In its Alaska Department of Law statement, issued on 6 November, the state said the campaign was seeking daily records containing individual voters’ names and addresses alongside provisional indications of whether their absentee ballots were likely to be accepted or rejected.
Election officials said authorised observers can inspect certain daily records under confidentiality agreements, but cannot keep or distribute copies. The state argues that decisions may change during further review and that some voters have not yet been informed of the status of their own ballots.
The department also warned that producing the requested information during an active count could impose additional work and delay election administration. Those arguments are the state’s legal and operational position; they do not themselves resolve the campaign’s public records claim.
Why are absentee ballots important in this race?
Peltola and Sullivan were separated by only about 600 first-choice votes after the early unofficial returns. The Associated Press reported on 5 November that approximately 74% of votes had been counted. That margin is a snapshot, not a certified result.
Alaska’s size and remote communities mean some ballots must travel long distances before being counted. Its election timetable also allows qualifying postal votes to arrive after Election Day.
According to the state’s Alaska election calendar, ballots sent from within the United States must reach election officials by 13 November, while qualifying overseas postal ballots may arrive until 18 November. Both categories must meet the applicable Election Day postmark requirement. The target for certification is 25 November. These are scheduled milestones and do not guarantee the date a winner will be declared.
Alaska also uses ranked-choice voting. If no candidate obtains the required majority of first preferences, later rankings are counted under the state’s rules. A narrow first-choice lead does not, by itself, establish the eventual winner. Official ranked-choice tabulation is scheduled for 18 November.
What we know and what remains unproven
- Confirmed: Peltola’s campaign filed the records lawsuit on 6 November and requested urgent relief.
- Confirmed: The Department of Law opposes releasing the preliminary individual-level records in the manner requested.
- Not established: That a particular absentee ballot has been rejected improperly, or that any rejection would change the Senate result.
- Not verified: A ruling granting or denying this particular emergency records request. Public case tracking reviewed for this report lists the 6 November complaint and motions but no later order.
Is this connected to the other Alaska election lawsuit?
No. This is a separate case from the federal Justice Department challenge involving two Senate candidates with similar names: incumbent Dan S. Sullivan and candidate Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.
That federal lawsuit sought restrictions on certification under specified circumstances. A federal judge dismissed it on 1 November, and the Justice Department appealed. Read our earlier report on the Justice Department lawsuit for the background to that separate dispute.
The present case concerns whether the Peltola campaign can obtain information about rejected absentee ballots before the state’s review and certification process is complete. The two cases concern the same election but raise different legal questions.
What happens next?
The immediate question is whether a state judge orders faster access to the records or accepts the Division of Elections’ argument that the information should remain protected during ballot review. The answer may affect what scrutiny campaigns can conduct before certification, but the lawsuit is not evidence that the count is inaccurate.
The Division of Elections was expected to publish further results on 9 and 10 November. Readers can follow the official results page for revised unofficial figures, and the court case filings for court documents and subsequent case updates.
Sources
- Alaskans for Mary v. Dahlstrom: complaint and emergency motions, filed 6 November 2026
- Alaska Department of Law: response to the lawsuit, 6 November 2026
- Alaska Division of Elections: unofficial election results
- Alaska Division of Elections: 2026 election calendar
- Reuters: Peltola campaign sues over rejected absentee ballot records, 6–7 November
- Alaska Public Media: local court reporting, 6 November
- Alaska Beacon: complaint and absentee review context, 6 November
