A record number of voters in Alaska have already cast their ballots in this year’s general election. Find information about the election and what’s on the ballot below.
General election information
Polls throughout the state will open on Election Day, Nov. 5, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Find your community’s polling location here.
If a polling location does not open in your community by 7 a.m. on Nov. 5, contact the Alaska Division of Elections. The regional office for Western Alaska can be reached at 907-443-5285.
The general election is a ranked-choice election. Voters will have the opportunity to rank candidates in the order they prefer most. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the first-ranked votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. The second-choice candidate of those voters is counted and distributed until a candidate reaches more than 50% of the votes.
In Bethel, voters can cast ballots early through absentee in-person voting at the Orutsararmiut Native Council (ONC) building from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, through Nov. 4. Kusko Cab is offering free rides to and from polling locations in Bethel for absentee voting and on Election Day. For free election rides, call Kusko Cab at 907-543-2169 and tell them to take you to the polls.
Nov. 4 is the last day to request an electronically-transmitted ballot.
Anyone who has received a mail-in ballot must have it postmarked on or before Nov. 5. Mail-in ballots also need to have a voter signature, a witness signature, and a voter identifier like a drivers’ license number or the last four digits of a social security number.
Federal Races
It’s a presidential election year, and that race is at the top of the ballot in Alaska. Eight President/Vice President tickets are on the Alaska ballot, including Democratic nominees Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and Republican nominees former President Donald Trump and Ohio Senator James David “JD” Vance.
Alaska’s sole congressional representative seat is also on the ballot. Incumbent Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola is running for reelection against Republican Nick Begich III, Alaskan Independence Party candidate John Wayne Howe, and Democrat Eric Hafner, who is incarcerated in New York and has never lived in Alaska.
State Races
State legislative races are also on the ballot.
In the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, that includes races for state House in House District 38, and for upper-river communities on the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers, a state Senate race for Senate District R.
In House District 38, the lower Kuskokwim, incumbent Rep. Conrad “CJ” McCormick is running for reelection against Nellie Jimmie (D-Toksook Bay) and Willy Keppel (VA-Quinhagak). Victoria Sosa (D-Bethel) will appear on the ballot, but has dropped out of the race.
Judges
Also on the ballot are retention questions for judges on the Alaska State Supreme Court, courts of appeals, and district courts throughout the state. That’s where voters get to decide whether judges at the various levels of courts get to keep their positions.
Find information about the judges in Region 4 (Western and Northern Alaska) here.
Ballot Measures
Voters throughout the state have the chance to vote on two statewide ballot measures this year.
Ballot Measure 1 would increase Alaska’s minimum wage, require paid sick leave be provided to most employees, and would prohibit employers from forcing employees to attend religious or political meetings. A “YES” vote is in favor of increased minimum wage, sick leave requirements, and other elements of the measure. A “NO” vote is against increasing the minimum wage, imposing sick leave requirements, and other elements of the measure.
For Ballot Measure 2, voters have the opportunity to vote on Alaska’s election system itself. In 2020, voters approved the open primary, ranked-choice general election voting system currently in place in the state.
Ballot Measure 2 asks voters whether they want to repeal the ranked choice voting system. It may be confusing to some voters because of a double negative. A “YES” vote on Ballot Measure 2 is a vote to repeal ranked choice voting. A “NO” vote on Ballot Measure 2 is a vote to keep the state’s current ranked-choice voting system in place.
Results
Complete results from Alaska's election will likely take some time to be reported, due in part to the election certification schedule, as well as the time needed for the Postal Service and Alaska Division of Elections to gather ballots from rural communities throughout the state.
Alaska's Division of Elections anticipates certifying the results of the election by Nov. 30.
The first round of ballots counted should be available at around 9 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 5, after the polls close. That will include the first-ranked choices from ballots voted in-person on Election Day, as well as ballots voted between Oct. 21 and Oct. 31 at early voting locations around the state.
Those totals won't include absentee in-person ballots voted early in Bethel, or in other rural hub communities in Alaska, until later in the month. The state anticipates finishing counting absentee and questioned ballots on Nov. 20.