Election Day in Alaska: How to vote, what’s on the ballot, when to expect results

Tens of thousands of Alaskans have already cast their ballots early in the general election, and many more are expected to head to polls on Tuesday to vote for president, U.S. House, state legislative candidates and two measures. Ballot counting will begin Tuesday evening, but the full results of some races won’t be known until later this month.

Here’s a rundown of Alaska election basics.

What’s on the ballot?

President

The presidential race between Republican former president Donald Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to be tight.

Alaska’s three electoral votes have gone to the Republican nominee every election except 1964, when Alaskans chose Lyndon B. Johnson over Barry Goldwater. Trump won Alaska with more than 51% of the vote in 2016 and nearly 53% in 2020.

But something is different this year: It is the first time Alaska — or any state, for that matter — will choose the winner of its presidential election using ranked choice voting.

The Alaska ballot features eight presidential tickets, and Alaskans have the opportunity to rank more than one presidential ticket if they so choose. If the top vote-getter receives less than 50% of the vote, then the winner will be determined in a ranked-choice tabulation.

Most polling has shown Trump well ahead of Harris in Alaska’s presidential contest. But it remains to be seen whether the winner of Alaska’s three electoral votes will win by securing more than 50% of first-choice votes, or by crossing the 50% threshold in a ranked-choice tabulation.

U.S. House

The race for Alaska’s lone U.S. House seat is a contest between Democratic incumbent Rep. Mary Peltola and Republican challenger Nick Begich III.

Peltola, who was first elected to the seat in 2022, ran on a platform of protecting abortion access, advancing policies to protect Alaska’s fisheries, and maximizing federal investments in Alaska’s infrastructure. Begich, meanwhile, promised to be a close Trump ally, advancing his agenda of opening the state up to additional resource development projects.

The congressional race features two other candidates — Alaska Independence Party Chair John Wayne Howe, who opposes most forms of taxation, and Democrat Eric Hafner, who is serving a 20-year sentence in federal prison for threatening elected officials, and who has never resided in Alaska.

While Howe and Hafner are unlikely to garner significant support, they could draw enough votes from the two front-runners to influence the outcome of the race, and to force a ranked-choice tabulation if the front-runner does not cross the 50% threshold.

Legislature

Alaskans will also be choosing all 40 state House members and 10 out 20 state senators. Several of the legislative races are uncontested, but a few match-ups between right-leaning Republicans and those aligned with a bipartisan coalition could determine control of the chambers.

Voters will also be asked to weigh in on retaining judges, and on two separate ballot measures.

Ballot Measure 1 would boost the state’s minimum wage to $15 per hour within three years. Alaska workers would be guaranteed sick leave for the first time. Additionally, employers would be prohibited from holding meetings that can be used to pressure employees not to unionize.

Ballot Measure 2 would repeal Alaska’s system of ranked choice voting and open primaries.

Polls open at 7 a.m.

Polls open on Election Day across Alaska at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

State law allows voters still in line at 8 p.m. to cast a ballot. Some polling locations have changed since the last election. Alaskans can search for their polling location by address or on the Division of Elections’ website.

State law requires that Alaskans be given time off to vote if they are unable to cast a ballot when polls are open.

Alaska’s voter registration deadline was on Oct. 6. But state statute allows unregistered Alaskans to cast a ballot on Election Day solely for president and vice president.

Absentee ballots

Absentee ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day to be counted. The Alaska Division of Elections recommends that absentee voters get their by-mail ballots hand-canceled at the post office.

By-mail ballots can be counted if they arrive to the Division of Elections from overseas within 15 days of the election.

Voters can track online whether their absentee ballot was received by the Division of Elections. But Alaskans are not able to fix errors on their by-mail ballots because Alaska law does not have a provision for “ballot curing.”

When to expect results

First, unofficial results will be released around 9 p.m. on election night.

A record number of Alaskans voted early this year. But not all of those ballots will be counted on Tuesday. Early voting ballots cast through Thursday will be counted on election night. Ballots cast Friday through Monday are set to be counted one week later.

As of Sunday, nearly 62,000 early votes had been cast.

The Division of Elections will count some absentee ballots on election night. Other absentee ballots will be counted seven days and 10 days after Election Day. The last tranche of absentee ballots from overseas voters will be counted 15 days after Election Day.

Over 37,000 Alaskans had cast a ballot by mail as of Monday. More than 20,000 absentee ballots that were sent to voters had yet to be cast.

Ranked choice tabulation

Voters’ first choices will be tabulated and announced on the night of Nov. 5. But the Division of Elections will not count voters’ other choices until all absentee ballots arrive. The ranked choice voting tabulation process is scheduled for Nov. 20.

Two years ago, the Division of Elections hosted a livestream to show the tabulation process for races that had no candidate with a clear majority. Results for 12 races that had no candidate with a clear majority were announced live online. But that will not occur this year. Instead, final results will be posted on the Division of Elections website on Nov. 20.

Division of Elections spokesperson Michaela Thompson said a livestream was used in 2022, in the first year of ranked choice voting, to inform voters about the tabulation process.

The state’s target to certify election results is Nov. 30.

Federal poll monitors

The U.S. Department of Justice is sending federal poll watchers to Alaska to ensure compliance with federal voting laws. The observers will be deployed to five areas in rural Alaska: the Bethel Census Area, Dillingham Census Area, Kusilvak Census Area, North Slope Borough and Northwest Arctic Borough.

Alaska is one of 27 states where the Justice Department will be monitoring compliance with federal voting rights laws.

Federal observers have monitored voting in rural Alaska since Alaska Native tribal governments sued the state in 2013 over alleged violations of the Voting Right Act. The lawsuit resulted in a 2015 settlement agreement that obliges the Division of Elections to produce election materials in Alaska Native languages.

Federal observers have routinely found since then that the Alaska Division of Elections has failed to fully comply with the requirements laid out in the agreement.