Alaska Judge Denies Peltola Campaign Access To Ballot Data
A Alaska judge ruled Wednesday that Mary Peltola’s campaign cannot access records on rejected absentee ballots. Regarding this issue, the Alaska Division of Elections received support from Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews. The court found the agency is “currently busy processing ballots from the 2026 general election” and cannot make the report, according to Fox News. This decision comes as Peltola holds a narrow lead over Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.
Peltola’s team sued last week seeking a list of rejected ballots and the reasons for those rejections. They argued this would help ensure all valid votes are counted fairly. However, the state argued that releasing these records would violate voter privacy. Assistant Attorney General Margaret Paton-Walsh told the court that voters do not want to be publicly exposed for mistakes.
Judge Matthews wrote that the request was “simply not reasonable” during this busy time. He noted that election officials have active deadlines they must meet for the count. The target date for finishing the count and tabulating ranked votes is Nov. 18. Matthews stated, “The Division asserts its staff is actively working long hours to accomplish its fundamental responsibility — administering elections.” He added that “the timing of the Campaign’s request could simply not be worse.”
The judge also explained that the data Peltola sought is not considered public records. State prosecutors called these files “ephemeral working documents that are not meant for preservation.” They argued that producing a custom report would create a significant burden for staff. Peltola’s attorney, Abha Khanna, claimed the process was going smoothly and they only wanted transparency.
With roughly 86% of the expected vote counted, Peltola leads by 3,975 votes. She has 121,487 first-choice votes, which is 48.9% of the total. Sullivan has 117,512 votes, or 47.3% of the total. Neither candidate has reached the 50% threshold needed to win outright. The race will move to ranked-choice tabulation after absentee counting concludes.
Other candidates hold enough votes to potentially change the final outcome. Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. has 4,100 votes, while Gerald Heikes has 5,426. The leading pair of candidates currently holds a margin that these totals surpass. Certification of the results is expected on Nov. 25 if no other issues arise.
Under the Public Records Act, public records access formed the subject of the court case. At a Tuesday hearing, Judge Matthews stated that the case was “not about who won or lost the election.” He focused strictly on whether the agency could provide the report during the peak season. The Sullivan campaign was allowed to intervene in the legal battle. This ruling keeps the current vote count method in place until the deadline passes.
