The Alaska Division of Elections certified this month’s general election on Wednesday. Candidates now have until the end of the day Monday, Dec. 5, to request a recount.
In a recount, ballots for a particular race are counted again using scanners in Juneau, according to division director Gail Fenumiai. One precinct is also randomly selected to be hand counted, which is a way of validating the results against the scanners.
The state pays for a recount in races in which candidates are separated by less than 0.5% of the vote. Otherwise the candidate requesting the recount foots the bill.
Candidates can also request recounts limited to specific precincts.
While many races have close margins of a few hundred votes or less, the closest is in House District 15, where Republican incumbent Tom McKay leads Democrat Denny Wells by just seven votes.
Wells told the Alaska Beacon on Wednesday that he was leaning toward requesting a recount, but hadn’t made a final decision.
Elections are certified after the state review board in Juneau reviews all materials involved in the election, including precinct registers, ballots cast in a precinct, and absentee, questioned and early ballots. They then sign an oath to make the results official.
View the final results here.
Check out more elections coverage at alaskapublic.org/elections.
Kavitha George worked at Alaska Public Media from 2021 to 2024. Her coverage areas included statewide politics and climate change.
