THE ALASKA STORY
Oct. 31, 2026 – A Washington, DC group helping bankroll efforts to elect Mary Peltola to the Senate is now demanding that an Alaska judge order rural absentee voting sites opened days before the election — a legal push that gives the Democrat’s lackluster rural turnout operation a timely publicity boost. It’s part of the overall Democrat voting push, not a serious lawsuit.
Midnight Sun Independence Fund’s legal argument rests on a weak technicality: Alaska law gives election officials discretion to designate additional absentee voting stations. The group argues that once the state advertised particular locations, failing to operate them violated voters’ constitutional rights.
Whether that argument justifies an emergency court order remains unresolved, but Alaska’s judges are notoriously left-leaning, and rural voting sites are notoriously hard to staff. Such a lawsuit may discourage the Division of Elections from trying to open any of them in the future.
But the political stakes are clear: The organization seeking the order also helps finance a super PAC spending millions to put Peltola, who is now the subject of a criminal inquiry, in the US Senate.
Midnight Sun Independence Fund filed suit Thursday against Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher and the division. The group wants an emergency order requiring the state to open and operate absentee in-person voting locations.
But wait, there’s more: The Alaska Democratic Party then filed a separate lawsuit Friday over rural absentee voting access, adding another legal challenge to election officials just days before Alaskans finish casting their ballots.
Despite its Alaska-themed name, Midnight Sun Independence Fund has a Washington, DC address. It is a donor to Midnight Sun PAC, which has reported millions of dollars in independent expenditures supporting Peltola’s Senate bid against Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan. Campaign-finance tracking services identify the fund among the PAC’s disclosed contributors.
The fund and the PAC are legally separate entities, although they operate under one roof. The fund identifies itself in its complaint as an IRS-registered 501(c)(4) nonprofit, a structure that generally allows organizations to keep their underlying donors private. That helps keep secret the people who are funding this effort for Peltola.
The lawsuit also brings a familiar national Democratic legal operation into the dispute. The complaint lists Anchorage firm Reeves Amodio alongside Elias Law Group attorneys. Elias also represents Peltola and the Alaska Democrats. Thomas Amodio is the Alaska Democrats’ main lawyer.
The group describes its voter-education work as focused on rural, predominantly Alaska Native communities in western Alaska.
At issue is a disputed account of absentee voting availability.
The complaint alleges at least 18 advertised locations were not operating during the week of Oct. 19. It names communities including Chignik Bay, Holy Cross, Pilot Station, Goodnews Bay, Gambell, Huslia, Newhalen and Toksook Bay. It alleges some local officials lacked materials or training.
The state disputes the suggestion that all 18 remained unavailable.
Beecher reported that 12 had confirmed they were open, three no longer planned to open and three had not responded. At some locations, the hours varied, while at others the hours were by appointment only. Gambell opened later than originally planned.
The fund argues that voters relied on the state’s advertised locations and that failures to operate them violated constitutional voting and due-process protections. It seeks orders opening the advertised sites; the complaint does not ask the court to overturn an election result or block certification.
