An Alaska Superior Court judge ruled Wednesday that state election officials do not have to give U.S. Senate candidate Mary Peltola's campaign a list of voters whose absentee ballots were rejected. The decision leaves the ballot review and counting schedule in place as Alaska tallies the remaining votes in the race between Peltola, a Democrat, and Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.
The Nov. 11 order resolves a records dispute. The campaign sought voters' names and the reasons their ballots were rejected. The judge did not decide whether individual ballots should count. Alaska voters can still use the state's own tools to check the status of a ballot they cast.
Why the judge denied the request
Alaskans for Mary, Peltola's campaign committee, argued that access to the records would help it make sure qualified voters' ballots were counted. Its lawyers told the court that campaign observers already see some of the information during absentee review and that the campaign wanted it in one place, the Associated Press reported.
State lawyers said the working reports were preliminary and included confidential information. The Division of Elections said its database could not easily produce a version that excluded protected addresses. Judge Thomas Matthews concluded that the division could not reasonably produce and redact the requested records while its staff were processing ballots and meeting election deadlines.
How to check your absentee ballot
The Division of Elections links to its Voter Information Lookup for checking an absentee ballot. Alaska's election law also requires the state to mail a voter the reason for a rejected absentee ballot within 60 days after general-election results are certified. Alaska does not offer a process to fix defects such as a missing signature on an absentee ballot envelope after voting, AP reported.
A preliminary decision during review can change. Regional boards check eligibility and whether the ballot was properly cast. Campaign observers can challenge a decision during that process, and the State Review Board makes the final determination, Alaska Beacon reported.
When the Senate count moves to the next stage
The state election calendar lists Friday, Nov. 13, as the deadline to receive absentee ballots mailed within the United States and from the U.S. territories listed on the calendar. Ballots mailed from overseas can arrive through Wednesday, Nov. 18. Both deadlines apply to ballots mailed by Election Day, Nov. 3, under the state's postmark rules.
Wednesday's unofficial count put Peltola at about 48.7% of first choices and Sullivan at about 47.1%, according to Alaska Public Media. If no candidate finishes the first round with more than 50%, the state plans to run ranked-choice tabulation on Nov. 18. In that count, the lowest-placed candidate is eliminated each round, and ballots can transfer to the voter's next remaining choice. The state is targeting Nov. 25 for certification.
