Elections

All elections stories. (These stories are also categorized as “politics”.)

A woman in a blue shirt feeds documents into a beige machien atop a table in an office.

Alaska’s ballot count continues, two House races shift

Democratic Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins took the lead in his race, while Liz Snyder cut Republican Rep Lance Pruitt's lead down to just 56 votes in a race that looks to be a nail-biter.
a person speaks from a podium

Trailing legislative Democrats pull ahead in Alaska ballot count; Sullivan, Young keep seats

But the races for president and Congress appear increasingly locked up by the Republican candidates.
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy

Alaska Gov. Dunleavy backs Trump after claims of election theft, as other Republicans congratulate Biden

Top Alaska Republicans have split on President Donald Trump’s claims that the election was stolen, with U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski and U.S. Rep. Don Young both congratulating Democrat Joe Biden on his apparent victory while Gov. Mike Dunleavy says he’s standing by Trump for now.
A poll worker in a mask sits behind a wooden desk

Alaska vote count resumes on Tuesday with many races undecided

The U.S. races remain undecided in Alaska, but there are also six races that could decide the fate of the state Legislature. Currently, six Democratic incumbents trail Republican challengers.
Side by side image of Senator Dan Sullivan and candidate Al Gross, 2020

Alaska US Senate race: Gross trails Sullivan but says math is in his favor

U.S. Senate candidate Al Gross is far behind in the votes counted so far, but his campaign claims he can still beat Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan.
a sign that reads "polling place here"

Here’s why Alaska is the slowest in the nation when it comes to vote counting

Questions, confusion and speculation about Alaska’s vote-counting process are erupting this week as state officials wait to count more than 100,000 absentee and other ballots until next week -- long after other U.S. states count the vast majority of their votes.
a person speaks from behind a podium

With more than 100,000 ballots still to count, Alaska campaigns cross fingers and crunch numbers

Experts say they expect to see at least some come-from-behind victories after next week’s vote count, since Republicans were more willing to vote in-person on Election Day during the COVID-19 pandemic. The big question is how many.
groups of people at a restaurant

Some Alaska Republicans build large leads through Wednesday’s vote count, with counting to resume in a week

Alaska Republicans appeared to have sizable leads in some key races in the state, though 40% of the ballots remain to be counted.
photo collage of three faces

Trump wanted to stop the vote when he was ahead. Alaska’s congressional delegation urges patience

Alaska’s all-Republican congressional delegation is not backing Trump’s call to stop counting votes.
three people behind a table looking at papers

With thousands of votes still uncounted, Alaska’s initial results show many Republicans ahead

The state’s Division of Elections updated results a little before 1 a.m. Wednesday, showing a total of about 157,0000 votes cast statewide. More than 120,000 early absentee votes remain to be counted in a week, starting on Nov. 10.
an election machine and some people on election day

Alaska counted less than half of all ballots on Election Night. Now the waiting starts.

Usually on Alaska’s Election Night, the big story is the votes that are counted. But in a year unlike any other, Tuesday’s big story was about the votes that still remained to be counted.
people hold up signs that spell out "VOTE"

Alaskans line up at polls, as large number absentee ballots wait to be counted

There were long lines at polling places across Alaska on Tuesday, despite more votes being cast early and by mail than in the past.
A white man in a orange patagonia jacket standing next to a window

Campaigns make last push for votes in Alaska before election

The major candidates in Alaska’s U.S. Senate race are making their last push for votes ahead of Tuesday’s election, with the campaigns calling Alaskans and knocking on doors and the candidates holding last-minute rallies and stops.

Sullivan ad criticized for ‘anti-Semitic’ images

The campaign of Sen. Dan Sullivan is taking heat for an ad that critics say is anti-Semitic.
A flyer boosting John Wayne Howe

Mysterious mailer boosts Alaska’s third party U.S. Senate candidate at Sullivan’s expense

John Wayne Howe, a Fairbanks machinist, finished a distant third in last month’s New York Times poll of the race. But it appears that allies of Al Gross, the Democratic Party-endorsed independent, are now trying to boost him among conservative-leaning voters at Sullivan’s expense.
A man in a black robe on a court bench raises his hand

How Alaska decides if a judge can stay on the bench

Nearly two dozen judges will be on the Nov. 3 state election ballot, but the process of retaining them is a big difference from the elections that take place elsewhere in the country.
Two women in conversation. One sits at a table in front of a laptop. The other stands next to the table.

In Alaska’s US House race, Galvin campaign goes big AND goes home

Rep. Don Young's challenger is running a $4 million campaign, much of it spent on ads. But in Galvin's Anchorage split-level, it's a more home-spun effort.

A torrent of Democratic absentee ballots could reverse Alaska’s Election Night vote counts

More than 75,000 Alaskans have already cast absentee ballots in this year’s election -- nearly one-fourth of the total number of votes cast in the state in the last presidential election, in 2016.
A white woman in a blue blouse with a photo fo a white man with big glasses

Will full PFDs spell problems for Permanent Fund’s future?

Legislative candidates have divergent ideas about how to pay dividends from the Permanent Fund while maintaining state services.

In tele-rally, Trump calls on Alaska ‘patriots’ to vote Young, Sullivan

In his remarks, Trump called Young and Sullivan “two very special people” and asked “every patriot in Alaska” to get out and vote for them.