| Will Mantell, Rachel Hutchinson | FairVote |
Be prepared to wait up to 15 days for results in any close Alaska elections, regardless of whether they use ranked choice voting (RCV). Alaska has a long history of an extended vote-counting period, preceding its adoption of RCV. The state accepts absentee ballots up to 15 days after the election – many of which arrive on the later end due to the size of the state, with a large number of voters living in areas accessible only by boat and plane. In addition, state law dictates that absentee ballots cannot be scanned before election night; this year, Governor Mike Dunleavy vetoed a bipartisan bill that would have changed this and sped up processing.
”RCV tabulations take about one minute per race
As noted above, ranked choice voting is not responsible for delayed election results in Alaska. However, the Alaska Division of Elections officially reports only first-choice results during the 15-day absentee ballot window, and chooses to conduct its RCV tally once every ballot is received. The actual RCV tabulations take about one minute per race, and have been shared on livestreams in both 2022 and 2024.
Even with this timeline, ranked choice voting races that are not close can be called well before the 15-day mark – whether a candidate wins a majority of first choices, or if the data overwhelmingly suggests the first-choice leader will win an RCV tally.