Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mary Peltola’s campaign the Alaska Division of Elections sued Friday in an effort to make public the names of Alaskans whose absentee ballots were rejected by the division.
The lawsuit was filed Friday in Anchorage Superior Court by Alaskans For Mary, and it named the division, its director and Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom as defendants.
Alaskans for Mary has requested an expedited review and is seeking both an injunction and a temporary restraining order that could reveal the names before the election is certified later this month.
In an emailed statement regarding the lawsuit, Alaskans for Mary said, “We are confident that Mary will win this race. The campaign ensures transparency, timeliness and accuracy as the counting process continues and the voice of every Alaskan is heard.”
According to the complaint, the campaign filed a public records request requesting “a copy of the absentee log showing the acceptance or rejection code for each absentee ballot…or other documentation sufficient to show the identity of the voters whose absentee ballots…were rejected along with the reasons for each rejection.”
Alaskans’ demand for Mary — the main organization spurring Peltola’s challenge to Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan — comes just days after the group pleaded in federal court in a different case, according to which “the fundamental rights of Alaskans (include) the right to disclose secret information”
ballots, the right to vote which will not be invalidated retroactively and the right to be
treated in the same way as other voters.
In an emailed statement, the Alaska Department of Law — which represents the Division of Elections in court — said the campaign “seeks access to preliminary absentee ballot information that the Division of Elections has long treated as confidential and that Alaska law does not require the Division to disclose.”
According to documents filed alongside the lawsuit, Peltola’s campaign began seeking information about mail-in voting in October, before Election Day.
This was before most of the decisions contained in the application had been made.
Division of Elections staff makes an initial decision about whether to accept an absentee ballot, but the final decision isn’t made until after Election Day because the division checks to see if an absentee voter went to the polls instead.
Additionally, Alaska is allowing mail-in ballots to arrive until Nov. 18, meaning the division’s multi-party review boards have not yet decided whether to reject or accept many ballots.
According to exhibits in the complaint, “Alaskans for Mary is seeking relevant records to ensure accurate vote counts and ensure Peltola supporters are not illegally disenfranchised.” »
But under state law, The Alaska Division of Elections is not required to disclose whether an absentee ballot is rejected before the election is certified.
Each election, the division publishes a list showing how many absentee ballots were rejected and for what reason. Voters whose ballots were rejected receive letters explaining why.
These only come weeks after the final result is known.
“Disclosure of preliminary information in the manner sought by the lawsuit would create additional burdens in processing the ballot and could delay the timely counting of votes. The Division has protected this information for years and will ask the court to protect it as well,” the Justice Department said.
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