The Division of Elections has received over 110,000 ballots as of Monday morning, votes cast in the special primary election for Alaska’s congressional seat, now vacant since Congressman Don Young’s death on March 18.
How it breaks down: Of those ballots received, 108,480 were mailed in. The Division of Elections has also received ballots that were undeliverable and the division now counts 508,043 ballots as actually deliverable to voters, rather than the earlier number of 563,000 that had been mailed to voters on April 27.
Our math puts the turnout so far at 21.65%. Alaska voters have until Saturday to get a postmark on that ballot and send it in. Don’t forget the witness signature.
What happens on Saturday: Tabulating votes begins at 8 pm on June 11, Election Night. The absentee review boards have been reviewing ballot envelopes for eligibility since May 27, thus the painstaking work of determining eligibility and no duplicate ballots will be mostly done by 8 pm that night. The first tranche of ballots will be counted and reported by about 8:30-9 pm Saturday; check back here later this week for more details on how many ballots the Division of Elections believes it can count Saturday.
The Division of Elections is unsure if there will be additional updates on the night of June 11 after the first reported count.
The Division’s website will be updated with the initial vote count on June 11, then again for the next count on June 15, June 17, and June 21. The certification of the election is scheduled for June 25.
Begich spotted in sign waving crew: Nick Begich for Congress was the congressional crew first out with a sign-waving effort on the traditional corner of Northern Lights Blvd. and Seward Highway on Monday. On Tuesday, he’ll be in Spenard at the food truck festival.
Sweeney traveling: Tara Sweeney for Congress is on the road system this week between Seward and Fairbanks, where the majority of the votes are found.
Peltola, Gross in Southeast: Both Mary Peltola and Al Gross are fighting for that important Southeast Alaska blue vote. Peltola is turning out to be a real favorite among the Bernie Sanders Democrats across Southeast. This area is a stronghold for Gross as well. They’ll both be in Sitka for the North Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting.
Palin event with Trump: Last week’s tele-rally with former President Donald Trump attracted about 60 people for Sarah Palin, who was dressed to the nines and did selfies and autographs with the group.
Constant complaint: Chris Constant, a Democrat for Congress, will have a press conference today about a hateful voicemail left on his answering machine. The police chief says no, it was not a death threat, just a rude guy. The stories about it are here:
Endorsements: Sarah Palin keeps hauling in national endorsements day after day, including Sheriff David Clarke. Candidate John Coghill has the endorsement of former Sen. and Lt. Gov. Loren Leman. Kim Swanson of Wasilla endorsed Nick Begich.
Media coverage: The Washington Post will have a story out on Wednesday about the congressional race in its online edition, Must Read Alaska is told. The author is WaPo’s Dan Zak, who was throughout Alaska for a week or so last month learning about the race of 48 in the 49th state.
Disappearing act: Josh Revak has not posted anything on Facebook from his campaign for over three weeks.
