(AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Democrat Mary Peltola’s campaign is trying to find out just whose absentee ballots are being rejected by the state of Alaska — even though they have more than 10 days left to arrive.
As ballot counting continued Friday in the tight race between Senate candidate Peltola, 53, and incumbent Sen. Daniel S. Sullivan (R-AK), a group called Alaskans for Mary sued the state Division of Elections in an effort to uncover the names of Alaskans who sent absentee ballots that had been turned down by the agency.
Peltola leads Sullivan by less than 700 votes, with 74% of ballots in, according to WBBJ.
“We are confident that Mary will win this race. The campaign is ensuring transparency, timeliness, and accuracy as the counting process continues and every Alaskan’s voice is heard,” the group said in a statement, according to the Alaska Beacon.
The Division of Elections issued a statement saying the information sought has long been private:
Today the Mary Peltola campaign filed a lawsuit seeking 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 release.
Alaskans for Mary seeks copies of daily records indicating whether absentee ballots of individual voters identified by name and address are likely to be accepted or rejected before that information is final and before it is available to the voters themselves.
During the absentee review process authorized observers may view certain daily records under confidentiality agreements.
Because the information is preliminary, subject to change, and not yet available to affected voters, the Division does not distribute the records separately or allow observers to retain them.
Alaska’s constitution and laws do not require the Division to provide this information in the manner requested by the campaign.
Releasing preliminary information in the manner sought by the lawsuit would create additional burdens during ballot processing and could delay the timely counting of votes. The Division has protected this information for years and will ask the court to protect it too.
The race is one of two Senate seats which are still too close to call, the other being Mississippi, where Democrat Scott Colom is fighting to win over incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS).
President Donald Trump has paid close attention to Alaska, where Peltola’s campaign was accused in a bombshell report of trying to recruit people with the same name as Sullivan to also throw their hat in the ring. Someone, a teacher named Daniel J. Sullivan, eventually did.
Peltola has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.
Trump’s Department of Justice preemptively sued to block certification of the race claiming confusion, even though voters have repeatedly told the press there was no confusion.
The president then demanded the “real” Dan Sullivan be declared the winner, even though votes are still being counted.
The state uses ranked choice voting, and ballots from outlying rural areas are still coming in, experts have said. Under state law, ballots can be accepted until Nov. 18, according to the Beacon.
That means “the division’s multipartisan review boards have not yet decided whether to reject or accept many ballots,” the outlet noted.
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