Alaska Senate Race Results and Ranked-Choice Voting
Alaska covers an expanse of 586,000 square miles and maintains a notoriously slow counting process, allowing 10 days from Election Day for votes to arrive and 15 days for overseas ballots.
The state uses ranked-choice voting, which lets voters whose first-choice candidate loses have their ballot count for their next choice. An analysis published November 5 by The New York Times concluded that Sullivan was unlikely to make significant gains through ranked-choice retabulation because Peltola was the second choice of many voters who backed a second candidate on the ballot who shared a similar name.
Federal investigators probe decoy candidate recruitment
The subpoena formed part of an accelerating criminal probe into whether operatives aligned with Peltola sought to recruit spoilers into the race, including Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired schoolteacher who shares a name with the sitting Republican senator.
A top leader of the civil rights division in Washington, D.C., signed the subpoena sent to Heikes, demanding electronic and paper records related to Peltola’s campaign, the Elias Law Group, and numerous political action committees, according to cnn.com. Heikes told cnn.com that FBI agents served him with the subpoena on Saturday while he helped a friend hang drywall, stating that he was not recruited as an operative but ran out of fascination. Heikes added, If they think I’m an operative, they’re wrong.
Sullivan. The Department of Justice declined to comment on the investigation, and Peltola has denied any knowledge of efforts to recruit other candidates.
OFFICIAL STATEMENT – MEDIA POST:📳 TRUMP DECLARES DAN SULLIVAN THE FINAL WINNER OF ALASKA SENATE RACE, CALLS OUT “FRAUD” CANDIDATES President Trump declares Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan the clear victor over Democrat Mary Peltola, arguing that votes for Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.… pic.twitter.com/2119176181966913814
President Donald Trump on Thursday said Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan would easily
win the Alaska Senate race should he receive the ballots cast for the alternate contender on the ballot who possesses a nearly identical name. The vote totals for the Fake Dan Sullivan, plus the other ‘slug’ that the Dems put on the Ballot, should be immediately given to the REAL Dan Sullivan, and the Election is over – He easily wins. There is no other fair solution!
Trump said in a post on Truth Social. Amidst widespread and damaging Republican defeats at the polls nationwide, this marks the initial occasion Trump has brought up any potential voting discrepancies. Trump has no power to dictate election procedures, which the Constitution delegates to state governments. Based on Trump’s assertions, incorporating Daniel (3,600, 1.68%) and Gerald Heikes (4,846, 2.27%) into Dan’s total puts Senator Dan Sullivan ahead by a margin of several thousand votes. After Democratic Senate contender Mary Peltola maintained her lead for days before slipping behind by a slim margin, Trump announced the contest was “over,” with the development covered by AFP via Getty Images. Trump on Thursday proposed that Sullivan should also get the votes people cast for minor candidates, and AP Photo/Becky Bohrer noted that Trump said Sen. Sullivan should get all the votes of Daniel J. Sullivan. In statements made on Sunday, Dan Sullivan indicated he would accept the outcome of Tuesday’s midterm elections while condemning the campaign of Democratic challenger Mary Peltola for allegedly enlisting Dan J. Sullivan to serve as a spoiler, according to CNBC, which also reported that the Department of Justice previously sued Alaska to demand the state not certify the election if the incumbent Republican loses.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Alaska Senate Count
Why is the Alaska Senate vote count taking so long?
Alaska allows 10 days from Election Day for ballots to arrive and be counted, alongside 15 days for overseas ballots to reach election officials across the state’s 586,000-square-mile territory.
What role does ranked-choice voting play in the outcome?
Ranked-choice voting allows voters whose first-choice candidate loses to have their ballots retabulated for their subsequent choices, though a New York Times analysis found Peltola was the second choice of many voters who backed the alternative candidate named Sullivan.
Who received the federal grand jury subpoenas in the investigation?
Federal prosecutors subpoenaed longshot candidate Gerald Heikes and sent target letters to more than a dozen people believed to have helped recruit Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., including leadership at the Elias Law Group, which represents Peltola’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, according to cnn.com.
TRUMP DECLARES INCUMBANT SENATOR SULLIVAN WINNER IN ALASKA President Trump declared Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan the winner of Alaska's Senate race on Saturday, arguing that votes cast for two other candidates he says Democrats planted on the ballot should be counted toward… pic.twitter.com/befMcDs8Fs