Sullivan team moves to block rival's bid for rejected ballot data

The legal dispute over Alaska's Senate race intensified on Monday as the campaign of Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit brought by Democrat Mary Peltola. The suit seeks court-ordered access to records for absentee ballots that were preliminarily rejected. Sullivan's team argues the request forces state elections officials to ignore established legal procedures during a tight count.

The race remains razor-thin following last week's midterm election. As of Monday, Peltola led Sullivan by just over 600 votes. More than 25% of total votes remained uncounted at the time of the filing. The Alaska Division of Elections initially opposed the request, noting that individual voters had not yet been notified that their ballots were rejected. The division stated it would be improper to grant the campaign access to that data before the voters themselves learned of the rejections.

Nate Adams, a spokesman for Sullivan, characterized the lawsuit as an attempt to alter the rules while votes are still being tallied. Adams claimed that the same legal team that advised Peltola for over a year was now asking a court to let her campaign disregard Alaska law. He stated the move was further evidence that the Peltola team lacked confidence in winning on the merits alone. Adams said his campaign was following state precedent to ensure every legally cast ballot is counted, expressing confidence that Sullivan would win once the count concluded.

The legal maneuvering occurs against a backdrop of ongoing accusations regarding a "Decoy Dan" scheme. Republicans have condemned Democrats for allegedly supporting an independent candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan to siphon votes from the incumbent. Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said the other Sullivan sought to appear on the ballot using the incumbent's middle initial, Daniel S. Sullivan. Dunleavy explained that the Division of Elections initially found the candidacy illegitimate and kept him off the ballot. A subsequent court case resulted in a ruling by the Alaska Supreme Court that required his name to appear on the ballot.

Dunleavy noted that the governor's office reopened its investigation into potential wrongdoing after a New York Times report linked knowledge of the scheme to Peltola's campaign. The governor said the initial investigation began when the division discovered the middle initial discrepancy. The reopening of the probe adds another layer of scrutiny to the election results as both campaigns fight for control of the narrative.