An Anchorage Superior Court judge on Wednesday rejected a request from Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mary Peltola's campaign for detailed data on rejected absentee ballots in her tight race against Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan.

Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews ruled that the Alaska Division of Elections was not required to produce the information under the state's Public Records Act, particularly given the timing during the final stages of ballot tabulation after last week's election. The decision sided with state officials who argued that fulfilling the request would create new reports, risk voter privacy, and interfere with core election duties.

The Peltola campaign had sought a list identifying voters whose absentee ballots were rejected along with the reasons for those rejections. Attorneys for the campaign said the data would help ensure all valid votes were counted. The request came amid a narrow race where Peltola holds a slim lead over Sullivan, with additional ballots still arriving from overseas voters until November 18.

Matthews noted in his ruling that the timing of the request could simply not be worse. The division is working long hours to meet certification deadlines, and producing the data from an outdated voter database would amount to creating a new report not mandated by law. The judge granted the state's motion to reject any requirement that officials generate such a report mid-count.

State attorneys maintained that the requested details were not public records and contained confidential information. They also highlighted that the materials were temporary working documents with limited preservation value.

The ruling comes as Alaska's Senate contest remains the only undecided U.S. Senate race in the country. Preliminary results show Peltola ahead in first-choice votes, though ranked-choice tabulation is scheduled for November 18 if no candidate secures a majority.

The Peltola campaign filed the lawsuit last week after repeated denials from election officials. The decision provides relief to the Division of Elections as it focuses on completing the count without additional administrative burdens.