On Tuesday, the Alaska Division of Elections began counting more than 150,000 absentee and in-person early votes. That includes more than 3,000 votes from District 10, which includes the Northern Susitna Valley.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the added counts nearly doubled the voter turnout in District 10 to more than fifty-five percent. It’s not known at this time if more ballots remain and, if so, how many. Ballots mailed by Election Day from within the United States have until November 13th to arrive.
While the ballots did favor Democrats over Republicans, they weren’t enough to flip the district in any political race. Al Gross, Alyse Galvin, and President-Elect Joseph Biden all gained ground, but trail their Republican opponents by twenty points or more in District 10.
Judge retention votes did change for the district, however. Absentee ballots were far more favorable to the judges up for retention, and a majority of District 10 votes counted thus far are in favor of keeping them on the bench.
The majority of votes in the district counted thus far also reject both ballot propositions. While Ballot Measure 2, which would change the way Alaska conducts elections, gained significant ground, the “No” votes still hold a significant lead in District 10.
All results released so far are unofficial. The state’s target date to certify the election is November 25th.
