By — Becky Bohrer, Associated Press Becky Bohrer, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/alaska-judge-rules-a-request-by-peltola-campaign-for-ballot-data-in-senate-race-is-not-reasonable Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Alaska judge rules a request by Peltola campaign for ballot data in Senate race is 'not reasonable' Politics Nov 12, 2026 3:24 PM EST JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska judge ruled Wednesday that a request by Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mary Peltola's campaign for a list of absentee voters whose ballots have been rejected is "not reasonable," particularly given the time crunch election officials face as they continue counting ballots from last week's election. READ MORE: Judge weighs lawsuit brought by Peltola campaign over absentee ballots in Alaska's Senate race Ballots are still being tallied in the ranked vote election, in which Peltola and two-term Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan are the main contenders. Alaska's is the only Senate race in the country that remained too early to call. The state accepts ballots up to 15 days after general elections from overseas voters, making Nov. 18 the final day to receive…
Alaska judge rules a request by Peltola campaign for ballot data in Senate race is 'not reasonable'
In short
The court rejected the campaign's lawsuit demanding a centralized list of rejected absentee ballots and the specific justifications for those exclusions. State attorneys successfully argued that gathering and redacting such sensitive database records would infringe on voter privacy while severely diverting election staff from mandatory duties. Election officials remain under tight statutory timelines, continuing to accept valid overseas absentee ballots until November 18. If neither candidate clears the 50% threshold in first-choice votes, the state expects to run its ranked-choice sorting immediately after that deadline.
Key points
- Election workers will not be forced to divert resources away from tabulation deadlines to…: Election workers will not be forced to divert resources away from tabulation deadlines to fulfill extensive campaign record requests.
- The legal decision allows Alaska officials to prioritize the strict timeline needed to co…: The legal decision allows Alaska officials to prioritize the strict timeline needed to conclude the nation's last unresolved Senate race.
- Ranked-choice tabulation will occur on November 18 if neither candidate captures a clear…: Ranked-choice tabulation will occur on November 18 if neither candidate captures a clear majority of first-choice ballots.