RismadarVoice Reporters
November 12, 2026
An Alaska judge has rejected a request by Democratic United States Senate candidate Mary Peltola’s campaign for access to records identifying voters whose absentee ballots were rejected in the state’s closely contested Senate election.
Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews ruled on Wednesday, November 11, that the request was unreasonable given the administrative pressure facing election officials as ballot counting continues.
The ruling comes amid an unresolved Senate contest between Peltola and incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, with Alaska remaining the only US Senate race yet to be called.
Peltola’s campaign filed a lawsuit on November 6 seeking records identifying rejected absentee ballots and the reasons for their rejection.
The campaign argued that access to the information would help ensure that eligible voters were not disenfranchised and that all valid ballots were counted.
However, attorneys representing Alaska’s election authorities opposed the request, citing voter confidentiality and the operational burden of producing the records.
In his written ruling, Matthews acknowledged that the information could theoretically be released after confidential details were removed.
He nevertheless concluded that the Division of Elections could not reasonably produce and redact the requested records within the available timeframe.
The judge noted that election officials were already working extended hours to meet statutory deadlines and complete the counting process.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Abha Khanna, an attorney representing Peltola’s campaign, maintained that the request was not intended to disrupt election operations.
She argued that the information should be accessible under public records laws, particularly because authorised campaign observers could already review certain ballot-processing documents.
State attorneys disagreed, maintaining that the documents contained confidential voter information and were temporary working records rather than materials intended for public distribution.
Michaela Thompson, who oversees absentee ballot review boards, explained that the state’s outdated voter database could not automatically generate reports excluding protected residential addresses.
Producing appropriately redacted records would therefore require additional technical assistance.
Alaska accepts absentee ballots from overseas voters for up to 15 days after a general election, making November 18 the deadline for receiving those ballots.
Election officials have also targeted that date for ranked-choice tabulation if no candidate secures more than half of first-choice votes.
The court’s decision does not determine whether any absentee ballot was properly rejected or establish the outcome of the election.
With counting continuing, the final result will depend on the remaining valid ballots and the application of Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system.
