| MSN |
The results of the Alaska special general election to fill the remainder of the late Rep. Don Young’s term remain uncertain, as CNN projected none of the candidates on the ballot topped 50% on Tuesday – a necessary feat given the state’s new ranked choice voting rules.
”The ranked choice voting tabulation is scheduled to begin on August 31.
The special general election, which was triggered by Young’s death, marks the first time that Alaska is using ranked choice voting – a process that asks voters to rank their preferred candidates, with the votes for the lowest-finishing candidates coming into play only if no one tops 50%. CNN projected that no candidate crossed that threshold, which means it will be a while until the winner is determined, with the ranked choice voting tabulation scheduled to begin on August 31 – the deadline for overseas ballots to arrive.
The race to determine who will fill the remainder of Young’s term pits former Gov. Sarah Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee who has not appeared on a ballot since that election loss, against Nick Begich III, who won the Alaska Republican Party’s endorsement in April and is the product of a powerful Democratic Alaska political family, and former Democratic state Rep. Mary Peltola.
All three candidates and independent Al Gross advanced to the August special general election after a June nonpartisan special primary, but Gross withdrew from the race and encouraged his supporters to back Peltola.
