Millett pulls further ahead in vote counting

Rep. Charisse Millett, fighting to keep her District 25 seat, increased her lead by four votes in the questioned ballot count that started today at the Alaska Division of Elections. The Division also counted the early vote, which Millett also won by three.

Republican Millett now leads Democrat Pat Higgins by 52 votes.

There are 520 absentees still uncounted, including 186 in-person votes cast on Nov. 7 and 8. They are mainly University of Alaska Anchorage ballots, our sources tell us. More absentee ballots continue to trickle into the Division of Elections. They had to be in the mail by Nov. 8.

The possession of those absentee ballots break toward Millett, as 169 of them were requested by Republicans, to the 88 Democrats who asked for ballots. The count continues later this week.

In the Rep. Lance Pruitt-Harry Crawford race in District 27, Republican Pruitt gained 14 in the questioned ballots and lost 6 in the early voting ballots, preserving his lead.

In the Senate N race between Sen. Cathy Giessel and AFL-CIO boss Vince Beltrami, Giessel gained 9 votes in questioned ballots and 4 in the early voting ballots. Her win looks solid, holding with more than 51 to 48 percent over Beltrami.