Why the Alaska Senate race could be so slow — and controversial — to decide

CNN ^ | October 31, 2026 | Jeremy Herb, Ted Barrett

[MinorityRepublican]

After Election Day, all eyes in the political world could turn to Alaska.

Alaska has already been at the center of a roiling political controversy this week over how the second Dan Sullivan ended up on the state’s Senate ballot, which has sparked lawsuits, criminal investigations and threats to block certification of the election if incumbent GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan is defeated by Democrat Mary Peltola.

But the uproar about the Alaska Senate race could ratchet up to 11 if control of the Senate comes down to who wins in the state, one that election officials and experts say is unlike any other when it comes to voting.

That’s because it might take two weeks before a winner can be determined.

“Alaska does it different than everyone,” said Derek Tisler, counsel with the Brennan Center’s Elections and Government Program. “It’s such a unique state given its geography, given how remote it is and how expansive it is. So voters in all other 49 states are going to be a little confused about how things are done in Alaska when paying attention for the first time.”

There are several reasons why Alaska’s vote count could take longer than other states. For one, the state gives between 10 to 15 days for mailed ballots to be returned to the elections office (10 days if mailed within the US and 15 days from overseas). Secondly, the state uses a system called ranked choice voting to count votes, a process where the results won’t be finalized until after that 15-day period if no candidate receives 50% of the vote on the first ballot.

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TOPICS: Politics/Elections; US: Alaska
KEYWORDS:

[Liz]

Besides the corruption of the people involved, there ‘s reasons
why Alaska’s vote count could take longer than other states:
<><>the state gives 10-15 days for mailed ballots to be returned to elections offices,
<><>10 days if mailed within the US and 15 days from overseas.
<><>the state uses a system called ‘ranked choice voting’ to count votes,
<><>the ‘r/c/v’ process won’t be finalized until after the 15-day period
<><>conditioned on if no candidate receives 50% of the vote on the first ballot.

[V_TWIN]

“Alaska does it different than everyone,” said Derek Tisler, counsel with the Brennan Center’s Elections and Government Program. “It’s such a unique state given its geography, given how remote it is and how expansive it is”

What a complete steaming load of bullshit.

There’s only 3/4 of a million people in the whole damn state.

Florida on the other hand has over 23 million and can count a presidential election overnight.

But kudos to cnn for carrying the democrats sewage. 👍👌

[napscoordinator]

If the Alaskan voters are stupid enough to vote for the other Dan Sullivan, when the incumbent will be identified, then they are too stupid to vote.

[KC_Conspirator]

CNN is a major propaganda arm in the democrap party. So now they are laying a narrative to cheat

[GMThrust]

I live in Alaska and they rely on this “Alaska is so remote...” crap for and excuse. Guess what, pretty much all remote villages have internet and cell phones. The real problem is that Alaska has 14 days by it’s constitution to certify the votes. There is no reason for this to take this long as you have pointed out. I watched the election totals daily during the 24 election. They had most of the vote in within two days (still too long).

[cyclotic]

My son just moved to a remote Alaskan village to work with some missionary friends for a few months.

He’s pretty easy to get ahold of.

He can’t vote but I called and made sure he knows what’s up so he can pass it along.