Alaska’s ballot counting marathon ends: Nick Begich declared winner, repeal of ranked-choice fails, and David Nelson pulls upset in District 18

1. Thank You to all the wonderful Alaskans that helped get this on the ballot. We do plan to ask for a recount which will take place after November 30th.

   In the meantime, I’ve already started the process to Repeal RCV again, please dog to my personal website and sign up as a future signature gatherer. 907Honest.com

   Again big thank you to all the wonderful Alaskans that voted on the Repeal of RCV, I have spent two years fighting and I’m not done yet.

   • Fight on!
     By the way where the hell are our reps and senators and why haven’t they done this? Where is Dahlstrom?
     Can we do something to make election day, election day with no post election mail in ballots?

     • We could do something, but it would take ALL Alaskans to do it. The People need to take back our elections and our voter rolls. We do not have to have the state running the elections or maintaining the voter rolls. These elections are Our Elections and WE should be running them. We got lazy and let the state take over the election process and the voter rolls.

   • Please do!

   • We will continue to fight on.

   • I am glad you are asking for a recount but it sure seems there should be a forensic investigation.

     • Agreed!

   • Thank you for your hard work. I’m not giving up either.

   • Can you start a ballot measure petition for absentee votes to not be accepted past election day?

   • Thank you Sir.

   • Thank you, Phil Izon for your work!
     .
     Check’s en route for Round 2.
     .
     “Never give in, never give in, never… in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.” Sir Winston Churchill

   • Thank you so much for spearheading this fight. I recently had a conversation with an opponent of measure 2, and he had a point: we might have more success in attacking RCV and open primaries separately. I would add that we desperately need a law to ban non-Alaska campaign contributions.

     We also need a law that makes it a felony to lie in campaign ads, which the opposition did quite effectively.

   • Thank you for all that you have done to get rcv repealed this time. I still believe that there has been some kind of ballot fraud. It seems like a rerun of the how it got to be where we are now. Something smells rotten. Except for Trump being elected for president, RCV being rejected was second on my list for successes. Is there any way we can rid ourselves of this cancer of RCV before the next election?? Any way on God’s green earth?

   • Phil, just wondering about a recount. This means the ballots are just counted again, fraudulent or not, correct? Thank you for all your efforts to get rid of RCV. We are definitely on board for another go at it plus your other measure for getting rid of voting machines/count at the precinct level.

   • God bless you, Sir.

   • I will be making contact.

   • Thank you for your work Phil. Much much appreciated.

     Into the breech again…

   • RCV………recount!

   • Thanks. Perhaps we should try to restrict outside money to prevent them from carpet bombing us again with their deceptive ads.

     • Yes, very important point. At a minimum, the rules on disclosure of outside dark money must be expanded. Alaskas need to know when they are being slimed.

   • Nice! Already building on the next grift!

   • You are very, very welcome ! Thank you for all your hard work and all your time devoted in trying to keep Alaska the Great State that it is ! I would very much like to have a bumper or window sticker next time from the time we signed up to election day 2026. I signed it in Homer in April of 2023. That was a long time ago and then we got bombarded with dark money ads right when alot of people were trying to decide. That is what TV and radio ads will do for you. Is there some other tactic that can be employed next cycle to beat the dark money. ?

     • People could get out in the streets and teach others the truth about RCV. Signs, talking with people where ever you go, donate to Phil’s efforts so that more can be poured into the movement. Phil donated a lot of his own money last time and that was nowhere near the amount the the cheaters had.

   • Phil, thanks to you and your team for the great effort with minimal resources. Suggestion: Your team needs to message much better. I fully understood what RCV was. Then I was confused after I heard your team present at several events. Learn From the Left and do what they do. As a retired military member, I would be willing to help in your next effort–also with funding. Thanks again.

   • Phil
     I keep saying it’s illegal to have more than one vote.
     Does that statement have merit?
     The other thing I see is you lose control of your vote once it goes Into Rank choice voting As the system now controls your vote, not you.
     Can we take them to court?

   • You guys try this again, you better have some $$$ in the bank for the campaign. $15 million would be a good start. Otherwise, like this time around, you will be drowned by outside-funded lies.

     Alternately, if you have access to that sort of $$$, use it to elect a new legislative majority in two years and repeal it legislatively. Cheers –

     • Bob Bird is putting this information out also to help stop this cheating:
       Call on Gov. Dunleavy to cancel ranked-choice voting now by invoking Art. 3, Sec. 16, because it violates both constitutional and statutory law.
       *Bob has an article here on mustreadalaska and at alaskawatchman speaking about rcv.

   • Thank you Phil, and yes I’m there with you for round two. Can’t wait to get started working for Alaskans future.

   • Instead of spending your time and resources trying to dismantle the ranked vote system, use it to educate people on how it works.

     RVC doesn’t stop you from voting for anyone. You can rank the candidates, who is the best and who is the worst, and you don’t need to think tactically in the primaries who can beat opponent, you can vote for the best candidate and if it doesn’t get enough votes, the vote isn’t wasted, your vote transfer to cadinate who you think is the second best or least bad candidate.

     Nobody loses anything, it gives power to the people, instead of the party. Not so many vote in primary compared to general elections, witch allow small number of people deside who are against each other and many feel that in general election there is only two bad candinate. RVC make sure that there is no spoiler candidates.

     • lot’s more problems with RCV than just voting confusion…

       1. Encourages politicians to ride the fence, speak out of both sides of their mouth, and play the field because of the incentive of 2nd and 3rd place votes. Inherently gives you more swampy politicians and less principle statesmen.
       2. Implemented illegally. Was on a ballot measure for more than 1 item…
       3. Increases elections costs
       4. Increases distrust in our election system by dragging it out for 3 weeks and then computer generated results.
       5. Funded and pushed with deceptive ads by over $13 million of out of state dark money.

   • Thanks for all your work on this. I don’t think a lot of people know concrete reasons why RCV is bad…maybe developing a concise bullet list of the negatives of RCV and getting that to every Alaskan would help. Major election reform besides RCV also need to take place. Out of state interests have way too much control over our elections! Also, all absentee ballots should be in before Election Day like Florida.

     Here’s some ideas of reasons why RCV might be a bad voting system…?

     1. Encourages politicians to ride the fence, speak out of both sides of their mouth, and play the field because of the incentive of 2nd and 3rd place votes. Inherently gives you more swampy politicians and less principle statesmen.
     2. Implemented illegally. Was on a ballot measure for more than 1 item…
     3. Increases elections costs
     4. Increases distrust in our election system by dragging it out and then computer generated results.
     5. Funded and pushed with deceptive ads by over $13 million of out of state dark money.
     6. Voter confusion (especially the elderly)
     7. More ballots thrown out.
     8. Lisa Murkowski is for it and helps her stay in power.
     9. Major disadvantage to principled candidates. (I’d rather have a Bernie Sanders than a Lisa Murkowski…at least we know where he stands)

   • Thank you! 664 votes short so close

2. Groh being gone makes House organization very interesting.

   • When one party has the majority you’d think they’d be in the cat bird seat, especially with Eastman out of the equation. It should be easy to for a Republican run coalition, but I’d guess a Democrat run coalition will be the result since the power brokers have already been working behind the scenes.

   • I hope the Republicans can manage to hold their caucus together and organize in such a way that will allow them to direct the proceedings in the next legislature. Alaska will be on a very slippery slope to disaster if they cannot.

3. Begich wins big and RCV repeal fails. How is that possible? Hand recount!!!

   • Exactly my thoughts

   • Because people are mouth breathers.

   • Easy. Little Mary was a bad choice for Congress. The left will happily toss her aside for the bigger prize, RVC.

     • Which is for the bigger prize, Lisa Murkowski, who is a prime example of why ranked choice is bad. She isn’t anybody’s first choice except for a very small minority that are pro choice, republican, anti-Trump, and pro union, yet she will win every RCV election. It’s like the owner of the Chicago Bears getting to pick the players for the Green Bay Packers.

       It is covert controlled opposition.

   • It is possible because the No on 2 group had a MASSIVE influx of outside money for ads. And, advertising works. Hate to say it, but unless you were in the know on this issue, the ads (which stretched reality to the breaking point) would make you think a Yes on 2 vote would prevent you from voting in the future.
     .
     The ads were good, and the average voter is not going to take the time to research the issue.

     • You are right about those ads, they were extremely frequent, and often very misleading.

       I also think there were no small number of people who didn’t understand the verbiage of the BM and maybe thought voting NO meant RCV would go away (as in no more RCV). I have zero evidence to support that, however.

       • Advertising works, and weasel worded slogans work as well.
         You do not need any evidence to know that is reality. There are Masters Degrees offered in colleges across the nation in Advertising and Marketing. The intent is to get people to take action.

   • I have the same question. I thought with all the cheating going on and nobody can trust RCV,
     It was a foregone conclusion.
     I think nick owes was his very existence, to mrak. He should be grateful for their support. Now, he had better produce results.

     • Just because NBIII won does not mean RCV is suddenly fantastic, and there was zero fraud.
       Very childish to think so.

       • Nevertheless, all your philosophical bs noname was just gibberish.

         • Gibberish?
           Try proofreading before you hit Post Comment.

   • I know of at least two people who voted NO because they wanted to get rid of ranked choice voting . . .

4. Congratulations Nick Begich! Now go in there and earn it!

   Where can I sign the next petition to repeal the RCV scam?

   • Sign up for Phil’s email updates at 907Honest.com .

5. Great news for Alaskans with the win for NB3. Seems rather wonky with the outcome of BM-2, as I literally don’t know anyone that is happy with RCV.

6. RCV, too close.Guess the delay tactic worked

   • You mean follow Alaska Statute? There was no delay tactic just counting all the votes.

   • Jonis Pistov, typical of Democrat tactics they keep counting until they find the number needed to defeat a candidate or measure.

   • It was the lies: “RCV helps conservatives.”. “RCV is being attacked by ‘elites’”. “Prop 2 endangers women”. “Prop 2 will impair the voting rights of those in military service”. There are others.

     The dark money billionaires should get ready. The next initiative is coming for them.

     I imagine the Left is already cooking up a plan to steal the governor’s office in 2026 with the help of RCV.

7. Next year, I’ll pledge $1,000 to help the repeal of this abortion that is RCV. One woman, one vote.

   • I will too Jeanette.

   • Please make sure you make sure it goes to the right group.

     My name is Phil Izon, I wrote and led the initiative last time.

     We unfortunately had people fundraising saying they were helping with repeal of RCV, when in fact they were not.

     Thank You, we will need all the help we can get. Sign up to help on my website 907Honest.com

     Phil

8. Is the State GOP going to demand a recount on ranked choice? Audit that the ballots are valid?

   Of course Dahlstrom and Dunleavy are GOP, RCV was set up for Murkowsi, another piece of work GOP.

   And they don’t care what the public thinks, that’s why we have RCV.

9. Heaps and heaps of outside money spent on outlandish lies meant to keep the stench of RCV in all of our faces, and if it wasn’t for the ridiculous and aberrant process created by the institution of the RCV system, it never would have survived.

   The truth will prevail.

10. How did anyone who voted for Nick, vote yes on 1 and no on 2. Something smells worse than a fish cleaning station.

11. Outside “dark money” that was supposed to be stopped, according to Scott Kendall, by RCV was ironically the fuel that defeated the effort to to repeal it. And Nick Begich wins. Thank goodness, though the big donor establishment republicans that backed Mary are gnashing their teeth and wondering how their very public donations can be whitewashed with some sort of political doublespeak so they can curry favor with the Begich they sought to defeat.

12. Too many people confused with the NO on 2 actually meaning YES to RCV. Easily enough to account for 300ish votes going the wrong way that could’ve swung the outcome. Unfortunate how it was worded.

13. Count me in on repeal. There were at least 333 confused persons who voted wrongly on this sorry abomination called RCV.

    • Lol 333. Oh boy. This definitely explains why we lost!

14. Nick Begich, you are a winner! You AND Donald John Trump. Now, go fight for us.

15. And suddenly, as Nick Begich the Third won over Mary Peltola, like by magic, all the Republican voices calling for election wrong-doing disappeared into the void.

    Maybe, MRAK should investigate all those question about fair election, raised from her fellow voters?

16. Lisa must be happy.

17. Alaska law does not limit how soon an initiative can be re-attempted. AS 15.45.040.

    The next initiative attempt should include 1) banning all electronic devices from the voting and ballot counting processes, 2) banning use of computers or the internet for ballot counting, 3) all voting should be in person with verified photo ID, without electronic machines, and 4) all absentee or questioned ballots must be received prior to close of polls on election day.

    • This should be a separate ballot measure as well. Excellent.

      • Phil Izon’s website has info on this. See his link in the comments above.

18. Wonderful for NB III but RCV failing is a big loss. Let’s get it back on the next ballot. Hopefully, we can have better results. Compare those states having results the same day with RCV delays. This abomination must be repealed.

19. I’m thinking 30 volunteers could finish an 100 % election audit it less than 10 days. That’s hand counting votes and reviewing absentees. Two person teams ( 1 Republican/ 1 Democrat) with Dept of Election supervision. Let’s test the system and tabulators.

20. Down with rank choice voting. It’s wrong. Recount. Adios peltola

21. Congratulations NB III

22. Guess if you import enough people and give them a piece of paper democracy gets exposed for the lie it is.
    Dont worry, in a decade enough children of paper holders will be old enough to vote and the whole state will be as blue as Seattle

23. The DOE needs an enema. This ranked choice outcome is bull.

24. NO ONE, except labor union organizers that I have spoken with likes or wants RCV. How this vote comes out with a win for the kendall smells – like rotten corruption. No doubt the recount will find another few thousand “no” votes for repeal.

25. We need to clean our voter rolls. That will help.

26. RCV changed no seats. All the leaders held on after RC was employed.

27. Congratulations Alaska! Nick will bring integrity back to that seat. Peltola’s ignorance and lies did her in. Alaska deserves better. MAGA Begich!

28. Part of the problem may be the only voice on the radio Alaskans have… The guy is mostly inarticulate, can’t figure out No on Yes from Yes on No without a billion Uhmzz and Anzzz between each word… Accidentally on Purpose confusing listeners with feigned confusion… But when a guest comes on suddenly it’s the second coming of Alex Jones blabbering all over the guest… Alaskans may be getting Clownwashed in the process… Fear not though, when George Soros buys up the radio stations even that will be gone… ^^^

29. No repeal sucks But at least we know we can vote for 1 and don’t rank anyone and it will count

    • Every vote will count. Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) does not change that. Ranking candidates is important because if your favorite candidate does not receive enough votes to advance to the next round, your vote will transfer to your second choice. If that candidate also doesn’t get enough votes, your vote will then transfer to your third choice.

      • How many times have any of you gone into the voting booth with a second choice that would be palatable? I hold my nose usually for my first choice. Your argument is made for stupid people.

      • RCV allows ballots to be invalidated at whim. A machine algorithm can print a circle onto the ballot (yes the Dominion machines can print onto ballots) on any one of hundreds of circles and render a ballot “overvoted” or “exhausted.”

        RCV was designed first and foremost to REMOVE ballots from the first round calculation. There’s a reason why we told everyone to use a blue ballpoint pen.

      • I do not want my vote to automatically transfer to the next choice. If the law says a candidate must have at least 50% of the vote to win, have a conventional run off.
        .
        In a field of four candidates, plus a write in, it is quite possible my first and second choice might end up as 4th and 5th vote getters. If neither makes it to the top two, I want the opportunity to re-evaluate the run off candidates. Not allowing that is disenfranchising my vote.
        .
        And, do not tell me that I should research all of the candidates. Not going to happen for the overwhelming majority of voters. They choose one. They “might” have a back up. They will not go into the voting booth ready to rank all four. Nope, not realistic. Humans do not work that way.

30. With a difference of 664 votes, I certainly hope there is a recount at the minimum, and a full audit of the ballots is preferred.

31. A few things bother me about this election. Why did the Alaska vote tally stop after Nov 5 for so many days at 76% of the count? What was going on with that uncounted 24% (about 80,000 votes)? Also, why is it that EVERY TIME the last counted votes seem to move to the left?

    Isn’t it strange that RCV swayed elections in 2022, yet apparently made no difference this time? I have this feeling that the RCV shenanigans are being saved until Lisa’s next election in 2028

    • Not all that strange, at least on the Republican side. Republican second place and worse performing candidates in all the legislative races dropped out following the August primary. Dems weren’t that disciplined this time around. They will correct that problem in 2 years, though.

      Next up, Gov in 2026. There will be a LOT of people running. Cheers –

32. How many of you know that our legislature could have repealed this 2 YEARS ago? Instead, it’s being kicked down the road again with a ‘this time will be different’ belief. Face facts: this was “passed” to ensure machines are always used, our legislature knows it is the only reason they are in power, and our elections are completely broken

33. The attorney general should be investigating the election interference by dark money groups as well a skullduggery by election staff. There must be a recount on RCV and analysis of ballots to ensure lies by dark money groups didn’t effectively cause the repeal of RCV to fail. RCV is not legal and corrupt judges should be held to task on this mess. Dunleavy and Dalstrom should also be held to task on failures by election staff to clean up voter registration database and get rid of voting machines. Why did Wasilla staff violate code in this election? Time to clean up voting across the state and restore transparency and confidence.

34. I find it interesting that the race between Begich and Peltola had a total of 319,880 votes and Ballot measure 2 had 329,547 votes, exactly 694 votes more than the congressional race. And the RVC ballot measure was defeated by 664 votes, things that make you go hmmmmmm.

    • I do not have the data in front of me, but I think that 694 comes from the number of ballots cast for Hefner and Howe that were exhausted after the first round.
      But, definitely a question worth asking.

35. Sorry to say it but this was never going to pass, not with voting machines in place. The dirty little secret is that the AK GOP wants RCV, and needs RCV, and therefore did nothing to defeat it. Lisa Murkowski created it, and she owns Alaska political establishment.

    Spare me the “we’ll get them next time,” delusions. Until voting machines are eliminated, this isn’t ever going away, and that’s exactly how the AK Uniparty swamp wants it. Been saying it for four years.

    • No joke about the AK GOP wanting this. Just look at all of the Uniparty/Rinos that got in or kept their seats thanks to this Rigged Choice Voting system!

      • Ask any of them (especially the new ones) if they’re wiling to fight to remove election machines, or push for a forensic audit of every paper ballot. All of them will blow you off, which 97% of all legislators, judges, clerks, and administration officials have done to us since we started calling them about it in 2020. History repeats.

        • Dunleavy has all of the power to fix this, and yet he doesn’t. I don’t understand how Dominion can sue for billions in defamation when all the states that were using them before are still using them.

36. Can’t we request a recount on ballot measure 2 since it’s within less than 1000 votes?

37. Alaska goes 51% for Trump, throws out Peltola for Begich, has a strong Republican majority, but somehow the majority here want to keep RCV. I’m calling BS. Millions spent on a “no on 2” campaign by people who don’t even live here….( How is that even legal????) but we are supposed to believe that measure 2 failed by 600 some votes, after an absurdly long “counting” period. If someone didn’t manufacture those votes, There is no snow in Alaska today, and there is no oil on the slope.

38. Agreed M.John, thats my thoughts is there any way we get a recount? Years ago It never took this long to get results. It seems there is such a lag time that the possibility of hanky panky is there.

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