Department of Law Responds to Lawsuit from Mary Peltola Campaign

November 6, 2026

(Anchorage, AK) - 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.

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Department Media Contact: Information Officer Sam Curtis at [email protected] or (907) 269-6269.

Due to resource constraints, we no longer post links to referenced records. Records filed in a federal court are readily available at Docket Search or PACER, and records filed in a State of Alaska court are readily available from the Alaska Court System (Trial Courts - Alaska Court System and Search for an Appellate Case). Contact Sam Curtis to request a referenced record that is not readily available from a court or on the internet, or contact [email protected] to submit a formal Alaska Public Records Act request.