Alaska's Senate Race Is Still Too Close to Call. Here's How the Count — and Ranked Choice — Could Decide It.
Mary Peltola leads Sen. Dan Sullivan by 637 first-choice votes with roughly a quarter of ballots still uncounted. No one has won. Here is the calendar, the math and what each side is claiming.
By Clara Hughes
Days after the polls closed, one of the last undecided Senate seats in the country is still a coin flip — and Alaskans may not know the winner until Nov. 18. As of the most recent results posted Wednesday afternoon, Democratic former Rep. Mary Peltola led Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan by 637 votes, 102,962 (48.02%) to 102,325 (47.72%), KTUU Alaska's News Source reported. The Associated Press has not called the race, USA Today reported Saturday. The Alaska Division of Elections had counted 215,912 ballots as of Wednesday, with roughly 20,000 early votes and about 40,000 absentee ballots received but mostly uncounted, the Anchorage Daily News reported. That means roughly one in four votes has not yet been tallied. Altas is not calling this race. Neither candidate has cleared 50% of first-choice votes, which means Alaska's ranked choice tabulation is likely to come into play unless that changes as more ballots are counted. Keep reading with Altas Premium. Below: the full ballot calendar through certification, how