Alaska ballots: Final count and certification dates set by Division of Elections

The Alaska Division of Elections has outlined a timeline for counting ballots, noting that some votes cast on Election Day and some absentee ballots will not be tallied until next week.

For voters who scanned ballots at precincts on Election Day, results were transmitted directly to the Director’s Office. If ranked choice voting requires further analysis, the Director’s Office will perform those counts. At hand-count precincts, first-choice results were called into regional offices on Tuesday night before being sent to the Director’s Office. Voting tablet ballots from Election Day were either printed and scanned or printed and called into regional offices.

Regional election offices began counting absentee ballots on Tuesday night for those received and processed by a specific cutoff date. Additional counts are scheduled for this week to process the remaining absentee mail. The final day to receive domestic absentee ballots by mail is Nov. 13, while overseas ballots are accepted until Nov. 18.

Ballots cast at regional election offices through Oct. 29 were counted on Election Night. Early vote ballots cast between Oct. 30 and Nov. 2 will be counted on Nov. 10. A Questioned Board will start reviewing disputed ballots on Thursday, with those votes added to the total on Nov. 10.

All ballots must be counted no later than Nov. 18, which is 15 days after Election Day. If necessary, the Division of Elections will conduct an additional round of counting after that deadline. The division targets Nov. 25 to certify the election results.

The deadline for requesting a recount is Dec. 5. Voters in Anchorage and across the state can expect the final official numbers to be confirmed by late November, with the recount window closing in early December.