The general election had a noticeable drop in voter participation in Alaska in 2022, but the drop-off in voter interest wasn’t the same in all groups of registered voters.
Just 266,573 of Alaska’s 601,795 registered voters cast ballots, a 44.30% turnout. That means 26% fewer voters participated than in 2020, and 6% fewer voters participated than in 2018, the last midterm general election.
We compare the 2022 to the 2018 election because they are midterm elections and were not interfered with by Covid policies across the country. The breakdown by party shows that Democrats and Republicans in Alaska dropped out of voting this year at different rates.
Republicans: About 3,200 fewer Republicans voted in 2022 than in 2018, or a 2.2% drop-off.
Democrats: About 3,200 fewer Democrats voted in 2022 than in 2018, a 4.1% drop-off. (Democrats represent only about 12.5% of the total voter file).
Nonpartisans: About 4,500 fewer nonpartisan voters showed up at the polls, compared to 2018, with the largest percent drop-off percentage at 5.4%
Undeclareds: Undeclared voters are the largest group of registered voters and although 6,900 fewer of them voted than in 2018, it represents a drop-off of 2.6%. Undeclareds include many people who were automatically registered to vote when they applied for their Permanent Fund dividend.
The number of registered voters in Alaska as of Nov. 3 divides into these main groups (with several other minor parties with small memberships):
- Undeclared: 266,085
- Nonpartisan: 83,576
- Republican: 144,542
- Democrat: 77,137
- Alaskan Independence Party: 19,277
- Libertarian: 7,009
