The Alaska Division of Elections released another tranche of ballots from the primary. These newly released numbers are from absentee ballots, questioned ballots, and the final set of early votes.
The full count of ballots is now up to 106,208 ballots voted of 605,482, for a 17.54% turnout.
In the congressional race, the current numbers are:
Mary Peltola: 53,598, 50.7%
Nick Begich: 28,110, 26.59%
Nancy Dahlstrom (she has dropped out): 21,147, 20.01%
Matthew Salisbury: 627, 0.59%
John Wayne Howe: 588, 0.56%
To compare, last Tuesday, Democrat Peltola won 50.3%. Nick Begich received 27%, Nancy Dahlstrom was held to 20%. Matthew Salisbury received .62%, and John Wayne Howe was at .57%.
On the first released count last week, there were 96,946 ballots counted of the entire 605,482 voter file, a total of 16.01% turnout.
Dahlstrom verbally dropped out last Friday. That means that another congressional candidate will move up to the final four for the November ballot, which will be ranked-choice voting. Unless Salisbury or Howe drop, the final four are basically set now, and it will be the challenge of Republican Nick Begich to persuade voters to come over to his camp.
“Following todays news of Biden’s lockup of over 10 percent of our state, its never been more important for Alaska to have a consistent, reliable advocate in the United States House. I am committed to working tirelessly in Congress on behalf of all Alaskans, their families, and the generations yet to come,” Nick Begich said on Tuesday evening.
No other races were notably changed with the new numbers released late Tuesday.
See all the current results here.
The election will be certified on Sept. 1. Candidates who are among final fours for the November ballot have until Sept. 2 to officially drop.
