Juneau leads Alaska’s early voting start, with Eagle River and Mat-Su close behind

By SUZANNE DOWNING

Alaskans cast 6,744 early votes in the opening stretch of general election voting, according to an unofficial Division of Elections report released Tuesday morning, with a Democratic stronghold in Juneau leading individual House districts and Republican territory taking the next two spots.

House District 4, covering downtown Juneau, Douglas, and the airport area, recorded 419 early votes. Eagle River’s District 23 and Palmer-area District 25 tied for second with 384 each.

The report, issued Oct. 20 at 10:40 am. following Monday’s opening of early voting, provide an opening snapshot of participation ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

Where voting was strongest

The 10 districts recording the most early votes included both Democratic and Republican territory:

Political descriptions reflect the 2024 presidential election as a consistent benchmark.

Juneau’s two districts together accounted for 704 early votes, or approximately 10.4% of the statewide early-vote total.

District 4’s leading position puts one of Alaska’s most reliably Democrat districts at the front of the opening report. But Republican districts were also well represented: Six of the top 10 districts backed Donald Trump in 2024, while four backed Kamala Harris.

Where the fewest early votes were recorded

At the other end, Ketchikan-area District 1 recorded just one early vote. Arctic District 40 recorded three, while District 5, covering Kodiak, Seward, and Cordova, and Bethel-area District 38 each recorded four.

Bristol Bay and Aleutians District 37 reported seven early votes, and Southeast District 2 reported 10.

Those low numbers span different political constituencies. Districts 1 and 5 supported Trump in 2024, while District 38 supported Harris. District 37 split its preferences between Trump for president and Democrat Mary Peltola for Congress. Arctic District 40 also backed Trump and Peltola, illustrating why rural Alaska does not always fit neatly into a Republican-or-Democrat label.

These are raw ballot counts.

Absentee returns add to the picture

Separately, the report’s statewide summary listed 5,134 absentee ballots received and 43,542 absentee ballots sent.

Those absentee returns are cumulative.

Including absentee ballots received changes the district standings. District 25 leads with 562 combined early and absentee ballots, followed by District 4 with 547 and South Anchorage-area District 9 with 520.

The combined totals include ballots received that may subsequently be rejected.

District-by-district early voting

The report lists the following ballots in its “early vote” category: