Alaska's Department of Law says state law does not require the division to release the preliminary ballot data
State of AlaskaAlaska Department of Law, which represents the Division of Elections, in a news release
The Alaska Department of Law, which represents the Division of Elections, says the campaign wants preliminary information the division has long treated as confidential, that state law does not require its release in the form requested, and that releasing it could delay the count.
Responding to
No Alaska statute protects from public disclosure the absentee register's accept or reject codes or the names of voters whose absentee ballots were rejected.
“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.”
Official statement
Other statements by State of Alaska in this case
Where this statement fits
Peltola's campaign sues Alaska for rejected absentee ballot records; the state says the data is confidential, and Sullivan's campaign moves to intervene
On November 6, 2026, Alaskans for Mary, the campaign committee of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mary Peltola, sued Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, Division of Elections director Carol Beecher and the division in Anchorage Superior Court under the Alaska Public Records Act. It seeks the absentee register showing the accept or reject code for each returned absentee ballot, or other records showing whose ballots were rejected and why, and it asked for a temporary restraining order. The Alaska Department of Law says state law does not require the division to release the preliminary information, which it has long treated as confidential, and that releasing it could slow the count. On November 9 the state argued that the records implicate voters' constitutional right to privacy, and the campaign of Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan moved to intervene, saying the request would bypass the absentee review process the law sets for all candidates. Judge Thomas Matthews scheduled oral argument for November 10.
Source and context
Official statement
About this source
News release from the Alaska Department of Law, which represents the Division of Elections, responding on November 6, 2026 to the Peltola campaign's public records lawsuit over preliminary absentee ballot information.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
The department says the campaign seeks daily records showing whether named voters' absentee ballots are likely to be accepted or rejected, before that information is final or available to the voters, and that authorized observers may view such records under confidentiality agreements but may not keep them.
After the quotation
The release says the division has protected this information for years and will ask the court to protect it too.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is the Alaska Division of Elections' refusal to give Mary Peltola's campaign the absentee register's accept or reject codes and the names of voters whose absentee ballots were rejected during the 2026 count. The department says the law does not require the release and that the division has protected the information for years, which defends the refusal.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Mary Peltola
More from this case
Read the full caseSullivan's campaign moves to intervene, saying Peltola asks the court to 'short-circuit' the absentee review process
“Peltola now asks this Court to disregard the law and to short-circuit the legally prescribed process for ensuring that every lawful ballot is counted”Read statement
Peltola's campaign sues, saying it cannot ensure its voters' ballots were counted without knowing whose were rejected
“cannot ensure that its voters' lawful votes were properly counted without knowing whose absentee ballots were rejected or questioned, and why”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Alaska's Department of Law says state law does not require the division to release the preliminary ballot data". First published: 2026-11-10. Last updated: 2026-11-10. https://disputeindex.com/events/8611-the-alaska-department-of-law-which-represents-the