Peltola campaign loses in court on rejected absentee ballots as she maintains narrow lead
In Alaska’s tight Senate race, the Peltola campaign lost a bid to obtain records identifying rejected absentee ballots as vote counting continued, and its preliminary lead narrowed. A state judge ruled the campaign’s request not reasonable given election-day timing, while counting progressed toward ranked-choice tabulation with certification anticipated around Nov. 25. With roughly 86% of expected votes counted, Peltola led Sullivan by about 3,975 votes, and they could still be decided by later absentee results and second-choice tallies. The dispute highlighted tensions between transparency and voter privacy amid a high-stakes, late-stage count and a parallel vote on repealing ranked-choice voting. Moving forward, the outcome rests on the delayed tabulation and potential impacts from lower-ranked candidates’ transfers.
Dive Deeper:
Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews ruled against the Peltola campaign’s request for records identifying rejected absentee ballots, stating the demand was 'simply not reasonable' and that the Division of Elections is too busy processing ballots to generate the report.
The campaign had sought information about which absentee ballots were flagged for rejection and why, arguing the request would centralize transparency without exposing confidential data.
State attorneys argued that the records are not public due to voter privacy interests, emphasizing that revealing reasons for rejection could expose voters who used absentee ballots.
As of roughly 86% of the expected vote counted, Peltola held 121,487 first-choice votes (48.9%) and Sullivan 117,512 (47.3%), a margin of 3,975 votes, with the race awaiting ranked-choice tabulation after absentee voting concludes around Nov. 18 and certification around Nov. 25.
Lower-finish candidates’ totals (e.g., Sullivan Jr. and Heikes) could swing the result once second-choice preferences are redistributed under Alaska’s ranked-choice system, making the outcome highly fluid despite the current gap.
A separate measure to repeal the ranked-choice voting system was also too close to call, with early results showing aClose margin (about 52.5%-47.5%), underscoring the contested nature of the broader election setup.