Democratic Senate candidate Peltola loses suit over absentee ballot records, lead narrows

Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews said the agency "simply lacks the capacity to generate the report" from the voter registration database, and the request is "not reasonable nor required" immediately.

Published: November 12, 2026 9:23am

An Alaska judge on Wednesday ruled against Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola, whose campaign requested the records identifying rejected absentee ballots in the midterm's last remaining uncalled Senate race. 

Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews sided with the Alaska Division of Elections, ruling that the campaign's request was "simply not reasonable" for election officials to provide the records while they're continuing to count votes in the race, Fox News reported. 

Matthews said the agency "simply lacks the capacity to generate the report" from the voter registration database, and the request is "not reasonable nor required" immediately. 

The campaign argued that access was necessary to ensure eligible voters’ ballots are properly counted and to determine whether any of Peltola’s supporters were improperly disenfranchised.

Peltola held a slim lead Thursday over incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, according to the Associated Press. Peltola held 48.9% of the vote to Sullivan's 47.3%, with 86% of the votes counted. 

 

 

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