AK Judge Rejects Peltola's Request For Rejected Ballot Data

An Alaska judge has denied a request from the campaign of Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola for data on rejected absentee ballots. The ruling, issued on Wednesday, stated that the request was "not reasonable" due to the ongoing ballot processing by Alaska's Division of Elections, which "simply lacks the capacity to generate the report," as reported by the Associated Press.

Peltola's campaign had sued state election officials, seeking records identifying absentee ballots rejected during the midterms. The campaign argued that the information is a matter of public record and aligns with what campaign observers can access in locations where absentee review boards meet. However, state attorneys contended that releasing such information would violate voter privacy, as noted by The Hill.

Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews acknowledged that, in theory, records could be redacted and produced for release. However, he concluded that the division is not obligated to disclose the requested records because they "cannot reasonably be produced at this juncture, nor redacted of confidential information."

The decision comes as Peltola leads incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan by about two percent in a closely contested race. The state is still counting ballots, with the final tally expected by November 18. The race remains too close to call, with Alaska's ranked-choice voting system potentially affecting the outcome.