Early voting starts Monday, but Alaska could wait weeks to learn who won, due to ranked-choice delays

THE ALASKA STORY

Oct. 17, 2026 – Alaskans can begin voting Monday, Oct. 19, even though it is the state’s observed Alaska Day holiday. But getting an early start on voting will not necessarily mean getting quick answers when polls close Nov. 3.

In competitive races requiring ranked-choice tabulation, voters could wait more than two weeks after Election Day to learn the outcome. For the next governor, that could mean a compressed transition: Results are targeted for certification during Thanksgiving week, with swearing in following Dec. 7.

The Division of Elections calendar lists both Alaska Day Observed and the beginning of early voting, absentee in-person voting, electronic transmission voting, and special needs voting on Oct. 19. Alaska Day falls on Sunday, Oct. 18, making Monday the observed state holiday. Voters should check individual locations rather than assume the holiday closes every voting site.

In Anchorage, the division lists early voting at Midtown Mall, 600 E. Northern Lights Blvd., and Anchorage City Hall, 632 W. Sixth Ave., Room 105. Both list weekday hours of 8 am to 5 pm, Oct. 19 through Nov. 2.

Midtown Mall also lists Saturday voting Oct. 24 and 31 from 10 am to 4 pm, and Sunday voting Oct. 25 and Nov. 1 from noon to 4 pm. City Hall lists an additional Saturday session Oct. 24 from noon to 3 pm. Locations and schedules elsewhere vary. Check the Division of Elections voting locator before heading out.

The larger uncertainty comes after voting ends.

Election-night returns will show first-choice totals. Those numbers may make some winners apparent, particularly when a candidate holds a decisive majority. But in a competitive multicandidate race where nobody finishes with more than 50% of first-choice votes, the first-place candidate is not necessarily the eventual winner.

Ranked-choice voting eliminates the lowest-finishing candidate and transfers those ballots to the next continuing candidate ranked by each voter. Additional rounds follow as needed. A ballot with no remaining ranked candidate stops contributing to the continuing tally.

Until those rounds are reported, voters watching a close race will not have the complete picture of how lower-ranked preferences determine the outcome.

The division plans ranked-choice tabulation for Nov. 18, a full 15 days after Election Day. That reporting places the target for certification on Nov. 25, the day before Thanksgiving.

The wait involves receiving and processing eligible ballots, rather than weeks of computer calculations. Alaska allows timely postmarked absentee ballots to arrive after Election Day, including a longer receipt window for ballots mailed from overseas. Those ballots can affect first-choice totals and subsequent elimination rounds.

Ranked-choice voting adds another unresolved question in competitive races: how the remaining preferences will redistribute votes once candidates are eliminated.

For the governor’s race, the calendar has practical consequences.

Alaska’s Constitution starts the next governor’s term at noon on the first Monday in December. This year, that is Dec. 7.

A Nov. 18 outcome would leave just 19 days before the new administration takes office. Certification on Nov. 25 would leave only 12 days, with Thanksgiving falling in between.

Candidates can recruit prospective staff and prepare transition plans before results are settled. Nevertheless, an unresolved election makes it harder to finalize a chief of staff, recruit commissioners, secure commitments from prospective appointees, and organize the handoff of state government. Cabinet appointments can continue after inauguration, but the responsibility to govern begins immediately.

Voters will also decide whether to retain the election system itself.

Ballot Measure 2 would repeal the open primary and ranked-choice general election system, along with provisions of the campaign disclosure laws adopted in 2020. A yes vote supports repeal; a no vote keeps the existing system.

Because that question is a straight yes-or-no vote, it requires no ranked-choice redistribution. A decisive margin could make its direction apparent Nov. 3 or 4. A narrow margin, however, could leave repeal unresolved while absentee and questioned ballots are counted.

Alaskans may therefore know whether voters want to end ranked-choice voting before they know who won some of the races conducted under it.