Mary Peltolas campaign sued Alaska election officials seeking records about rejected absentee ballots in the states unresolved Senate race, Newsweek reported Saturday.
The campaign group Alaskans for Mary filed its public-records action against the Alaska Division of Elections, Lieutenant Governor Nancy Dahlstrom and elections director Carol Beecher. It wants records identifying voters whose absentee ballots were rejected or questioned and explaining the reasons for those decisions.
According to the complaint, the campaign first requested the information from regional election offices on October 27. It followed up on November 4 and demanded the records by the following afternoon, arguing that the state had an obligation to respond promptly under Alaskas Public Records Act.
The campaign says officials declined its request for immediate access during a November 5 telephone discussion and subsequent email correspondence. Its lawyers argue that delays prevent them from monitoring whether eligible voters ballots are being counted properly while counting and certification deadlines approach.
The lawsuit asks the Anchorage court for declaratory and injunctive relief requiring disclosure without further delay. The campaign also sought emergency relief through a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, requests that should not be confused with a court order granting access.
Alaskas Department of Law disputes the campaigns interpretation and says the preliminary records have long been treated as confidential. The department argues that the requested information can change during review and is not yet available to the affected voters themselves.
The state says authorized observers may inspect certain daily records under confidentiality agreements. It contends that distributing separate copies could impose additional work during ballot processing and delay the timely counting of votes.
Newsweek described the Senate contest between Peltola and Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan as too close to call in its Saturday report. That assessment and the reported vote margin were snapshots of an unfinished count, not certified results or predictions of the eventual winner.
The dispute concerns access to election records and the competing legal arguments about when those records must be released. The complaint itself does not establish election fraud, prove that particular ballots were wrongly excluded or award either candidate a victory.
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