Effort to repeal ranked choice voting and open primaries in Alaska on track to narrowly fail after latest ballot count

A ballot measure seeking to repeal open primaries and ranked choice voting in Alaska is narrowly on track to lose, after the state Division of Elections counted almost 4,000 absentee ballots on Monday.

Preliminary results posted after Election Day on Nov. 5 showed supporters of the ballot measure leading by more than one point. But as election workers counted the ballots of absentee voters — who disproportionately opposed the repeal effort — the gap narrowed.

The Division of Elections is set to continue counting ballots on Tuesday. Division Director Carol Beecher said there were around 7,800 absentee ballots left to be counted as of Monday. Wednesday is the final day for absentee ballots arriving from overseas to be tallied. By Wednesday evening, the division plans to tabulate results of the state’s ranked-choice contests. Results are expected to be certified by the end of the month. After certification, voters and candidates can request recounts in individual races, meaning it could be several weeks before outcomes in close contests are finalized.

Results posted Monday showed 50.03% of voters opposed the measure repealing ranked choice voting, while 49.97% were in favor of the repeal. Just 192 votes separated the two camps, with more ballots set to be counted.

Opponents of Alaska’s voting system — which itself was adopted by a ballot measure in 2020 — said it was confusing and that it took power away from political parties. The ballot measure seeking to repeal ranked choice voting and open primaries was backed by the Alaska Republican Party.

Backers of the voting system spent around $15 million ahead of the election on a campaign extolling the value of open primaries and ranked choice voting.

Phillip Izon, a Wasilla resident who led the signature-gathering effort to put this year’s repeal initiative on the ballot, said Monday that if the repeal fails, he would try again in two years.

“Let’s see if they want to spend $15 million in 2026 defending ranked choice voting,” Izon said in a text message.

Republican Anchorage Sen. Cathy Giessel, a supporter of Alaska’s voting system, said Monday that if the repeal effort fails, “it will mean that Alaskans will continue to have their choices heard with clarity.”

“More than 60% of voters are not Republican or Democrat, so the open primary allows them to actually express their views. A high percent of Alaskans cross-ballot vote, choosing from both the R and D columns, as well as the independent candidates,” Giessel said. “The previous closed primary meant that a small number of voters aligned with party-run primaries were deciding who would appear on the general election ballot.”

The cross-party voting is evident in results from several districts across the state. In a district encompassing downtown Fairbanks, Republican President-elect Donald Trump is winning the presidential election by more than three points, while Democratic state Sen. Scott Kawasaki is winning the district by more than 14 points. In a district that includes the North Slope and Northwest Arctic, Trump is winning the presidential election by nearly six points. But two Democratic state House candidates — Robyn Burke and Saima Chase — collectively have more than 75% of the vote.

The Division of Elections counted 4,000 absentee ballots on Monday, all of which came from the Anchorage area. Beecher, with the division, said that of the 7,800 absentee ballots remaining to be counted, roughly 4,000 more were from Anchorage voters and 1,500 were from voters who reside in either the Aleutian Chain, Western Alaska, the Northwest Arctic or the North Slope.

After Monday’s count, Republican Nick Begich was still leading Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola in the race for Alaska’s lone House seat, though Begich’s gap has shrunk. Absentee votes and those from rural voters have disproportionately gone to Peltola.

Begich now has just over 48.5% of votes counted so far, while Peltola has 46.3%. They are separated by over 7,000 votes. Begich declared victory in the race on Saturday, though Peltola has yet to concede or comment publicly on the results.

If neither candidate captures more than 50% of the vote, the winner will be determined by a ranked choice tabulation, in which other candidates’ votes will be redistributed according to voters’ preferences. Alaska Independence Party candidate John Wayne Howe has 3.9% of the vote in the congressional race, and imprisoned Democrat Eric Hafner has 1% of the vote.

Trump is still handily winning Alaska with 54.6% of the vote, with vice President Kamala Harris ta 41.3%.

In a close race for a North Anchorage House seat, Democratic incumbent Rep. Cliff Groh’s lead grew from 10 votes to 25 votes in the latest count. Groh now has 50.3% of votes cast, compared to Republican challenger David Nelson’s 49.6%.

Results in other legislative races did not change substantially.