As the election for Alaska’s temporary congressional seat moves to the next phase, 161,274 primary ballots have been counted by the Division of Elections as of Tuesday, June 21, the last day when votes were counted. The turnout was 27.52% of registered voters for the election that began April 27 and ended June 11. It was an all-mail-in election, the first in Alaska history, and there were 48 names on the ballot of those who hoped to have a seat in Congress until the next congressperson is sworn in in January, 2023.
The standings haven’t changed much over the past several days:
- Sarah Palin gained 2,275 votes to reach 43,577, or 27.02% of the vote.
- Nick Begich gained 1,992 votes to reach 30,851, for 19.13% of the vote.
- Mary Peltola gained 2,085 votes, for 10% of the vote. 16,218 voters chose Peltola.
Al Gross, who dropped out of contention on Monday, reached 20,371, or 12.75% of the vote. He will not appear on the special general election ballot, due to having withdrawn from the race.
The state review board begins it work on June 22, and certification of the election is scheduled for June 25. Candidates may withdraw from the special general election ballot as late as June 26, and the sample ballot is to be posted by June 28, also the date that the printing of ballots will begin for the Aug. 16 combination election that will have a regular primary election and a special general election for the temporary congressional seat.
Still uncertain is whether there will be a lawsuit by one or more parties who disagree with the Division of Elections decision to allow Gross to drop from the ballot, but not allow the fifth-place finisher to slide into that spot.
