On November 5, 2024, Alaskans will use ranked choice voting in their general election. On the ballot: US president, one US House seat, most of the state legislature, two ballot measures, and judges for retention.
We’ve put together answers to the top questions we’ve been hearing about Alaska’s ranked choice election:
Table of Contents
Click or tap to jump to each section.
Who’s running for office in Alaska and what do they stand for?
- Who are the candidates?
- How do I learn more about the candidates and the issues?
- What do the political party labels next to each candidate’s name actually mean?
- How can I find out which candidates each political party has endorsed?
- What are the two statewide ballot measures in this election?
- Why are there eight candidates running for president?
What you need to know to vote in Alaska’s general election
- What are my voting options?
- Are there voter ID requirements?
- Where do I get an absentee ballot?
- How can I turn in my absentee ballot?
- Do I need a witness signature on my absentee ballot envelope?
- If I vote absentee, can I track my ballot?
- What if I miss the deadline to request a vote-by-mail absentee ballot but need to vote absentee?
- How can I get election materials in Alaska Native languages and Tagalog?
- How do I fill out my ballot correctly?
- Do I have to rank every candidate?
- What are some common mistakes to avoid when ranking candidates?
- How do I replace a lost ballot?
- What’s next?
Sightline Institute is also producing and sharing free voter education resources for Alaska at sightline.org/alaska-elections, including graphics detailing key election dates, sample ballots, and a map of regional election offices. If you still have questions after reviewing the ones below, please don’t hesitate to email authors Jeannette Lee or Jay Lee (no relation). We’ll update this article with additional answers to reader questions.
General information on Alaska’s November 2024 elections
What is on the ballot in November?
On November 5, 2024, Alaskans will vote in the general election. They’ll use ranked choice voting to decide who represents them for president, US House, all members of the state House, and half the state Senate.1 Voters will also decide on two ballot measures and whether to retain various state and district judges.
Neither of Alaska’s US Senate seats is up for election this year, nor are the governor and lieutenant governor positions.
How does ranked choice voting work in Alaska’s general election?
Voters have the option to rank the candidates in order of preference. Once the polls are closed, everyone’s first-choice vote is counted. If a candidate receives a majority (50 percent plus one) of first-choice votes, then they are the winner. If no candidate gets a majority of votes after the first round, the candidate with the fewest first-choice votes is eliminated, and their supporters’ votes are reallocated to the voters’ second preference. This process continues until a candidate receives a majority of the vote.
Alaska voters used ranked choice voting for the first time in 2022, electing members of Congress, the governor and lieutenant governor, and state legislators. Alaska isn’t alone. Maine also uses ranked choice voting, as do several cities and political parties. As of February 2024, voters in 60 jurisdictions across 24 states were using ranked choice voting in an array of elections, according to the election advocacy organization FairVote.
What key election dates should I know?
The key dates for the election are:
- Sunday, October 6: Deadline to register to vote. If you received a Permanent Fund Dividend last year, then the state has already registered you automatically.
- Monday, October 21: Most early and in-person absentee voting locations open. Hours and days vary by location.
- Saturday, October 26: Applications for an absentee ballot delivered by mail must be received by the Division of Elections.
- Tuesday, November 5: Election Day! Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
We made a free timeline of Alaska’s key 2024 election dates. It’s printable and social media-shareable. You could use it in a PowerPoint, or turn it into a fridge magnet, flyer, or poster.
How do I register to vote?
If you are an eligible voter in Alaska and applied for a Permanent Fund Dividend in 2023, you were automatically registered to vote. To check your voter registration status, go to the state’s My Voter Information page.
If you need to register or change your voter information, visit the state’s Online Voter Registration page. Remember to register to vote by October 5.
How do I check my voter registration status?
You can check your voter registration status here.
When will election results come out?
Alaska’s election results won’t come out right away because the absentee ballots arriving after Election Day need to be counted. These ballots come from Alaska voters outside the state, including from members of the military, snowbirds, and college students.
Under Alaska law, there’s a 10-day window after Election Day for these absentee ballots to arrive (15 days for overseas ballots). This longstanding practice helps ensure absentee voters aren’t disenfranchised by mail delays. Other batches of late-arriving ballots will come in from remote rural precincts, where poll workers perform a preliminary hand count of ballots and call in on Election Night to report first round results only. Once those ballots arrive in Juneau, election officials scan them for the final tabulation.
Normally, later absentee votes don’t make much of a difference in results. In a ranked choice system, there’s a greater chance these voters’ preferences will matter.
Election officials plan to report first-round results soon after polls close. Then, they’ll wait for late absentee ballots to come in before reporting the final results. That means Alaskans can expect official results by November 30. (For reference, the Alaska Division of Elections chose to report the full results of the November 9 general election on November 23.)
How can I volunteer to be an election worker?
If you want to help make sure that Alaska has safe, fair, and efficient elections, you can sign up to be an election worker!
Who’s running for office in Alaska and what do they stand for?
Who are the candidates?
The Alaska Division of Elections lists all of the candidates on its website.
How do I learn more about the candidates and the issues?
The Alaska Division of Elections publishes personal statements and information for each candidate in the Official Election Pamphlet, which will be available online and mailed to every voter household by Monday, October 14. The Alaska Beacon has already published a voter guide.
Learn more about the judges on the ballot here.
What do the political party labels next to each candidate’s name actually mean?
Each candidate’s chosen political party (e.g., Democrat, Republican, Libertarian) appears in parentheses next to their name on the ballot. This means the candidate is registered with the party but does not mean the party has endorsed them.
In some cases, the candidate will have chosen not to affiliate with a party at all.
How can I find out which candidates each political party has endorsed?
The Alaska Democratic Party has listed its endorsed candidates online. The Alaska Libertarian Party has made endorsements for president and both ballot measures. The Alaska Republican Party publishes a list of current elected officials affiliated with the party. Endorsement information from the Alaskan Independence Party is not available. (Note: The Alaska Independence Party seeks to make Alaska independent from the United States and does not represent the majority of independent voters.)
What are the two statewide ballot measures in this election?
Ballot Measure 1 is titled “An Act Increasing the Minimum Wage, Requiring Paid Sick Leave, and Prohibiting Mandatory Meetings about Religious or Political Issues.” If approved by the voters, this measure would:
- Gradually increase the state’s minimum wage from the current $11.73 to $15 by July 2027, require that it always be at least $2 higher than the federal minimum wage, and adjust it for inflation into the future;
- Require employers to provide at least 40 hours of paid sick leave annually (at least 56 hours for companies with more than 15 employees), prorated for part-time employees, which carries over to the next year; and
- Prevent employers from requiring employees to attend meetings about religious or political topics unrelated to their job, including meetings about whether to join a labor organization.
Ballot Measure 2 is titled “An Act Restoring Political Party Primaries and Single-Choice General Elections.” If approved by the voters, this measure would:
- Repeal the system of top-four, open, nonpartisan primary elections and ranked choice general elections, which voters approved in 2020 and have used in the 2022 and 2024 elections;
- Revert elections to the system of partisan primaries and pick-one general elections used from 2000 to 2020;
- Give political parties the ability to decide which people are eligible to vote in their primary elections; and
- Establish a separate process for nonpartisan candidates to collect signatures and petition onto the general election ballot.
The full text of these measures, neutral summaries prepared by legislative staff, and arguments for and against each of them will be available in the Official Election Pamphlet.
Why are there eight candidates running for president?
For Alaska-specific positions like US House and Senate, governor and lieutenant governor, and state House and Senate, voters use a nonpartisan open primary to advance the top four vote-getters to the general election. Alaska does not conduct a state-run presidential primary like some other states; presidential primaries in Alaska are party-run events that determine delegates to national party nominating conventions.
Alaska’s four recognized political parties and four recognized limited political parties can nominate presidential candidates to appear on the ballot, and independent candidates can petition onto the ballot through signatures. Six political parties nominated a candidate for the ballot this year, and two independent candidates collected enough signatures to appear.
Voters will use ranked choice voting to select which presidential candidate receives Alaska’s electoral college votes. Voters are free to rank up to all eight candidates.
What you need to know to vote in Alaska’s general election
What are my voting options?
Voters can vote:
- absentee, or
- early in person, or
- in person on Election Day.
For early voting and Election Day voting locations, please see the Alaska Division of Elections website.
Are there voter ID requirements?
Yes. When voting in person, your voter ID card, driver’s license, state ID, military ID, passport, hunting or fishing license, or another current valid photo ID are all acceptable forms of ID. A current utility bill, paycheck, government check, bank statement, or other government-issued document is also acceptable.
Where do I get an absentee ballot?
Any eligible voter can request an absentee ballot. You do not need a reason. To have your absentee ballot mailed to you, you must request it by October 26. To have your absentee ballot sent to you by email or fax, you must request it by November 4. Find more information on absentee voting at the Division of Elections website.
How can I turn in my absentee ballot?
By mail: Mail your absentee ballot from home, the post office, or any US Postal Service collection box. Do it early to make sure it’s postmarked by November 5.
In person: Drop off your ballot at any Division of Elections office or voting location by 8:00 p.m. on or before November 5.
By fax: If you requested an absentee ballot to be faxed or emailed to you, you can return your ballot by fax but are waiving your right to a secret ballot. (You can also use the by-mail or drop-off options noted above.) Fax your completed ballot to the number provided with your ballot before 8:00 p.m. on November 5.
Do I need a witness signature on my absentee ballot envelope?
Yes. If your absentee ballot envelope does not have a witness signature, it will not be counted. (The Division of Elections waived this requirement in 2020 but reinstated it in 2022.) You can have a friend, family member, or other witness sign the outside of the envelope.
If I vote absentee, can I track my ballot?
You can check the status of both your absentee ballot application and your completed absentee ballot through the state’s voter information portal.
What if I miss the deadline to request a vote-by-mail absentee ballot but need to vote absentee?
You can apply for an absentee ballot to be faxed or emailed to you starting on October 21. You must send in the application by November 4 at 5:00 p.m. Your digital ballot cannot be submitted by email; it must be printed and returned in a hard-copy form or by fax.
How can I get election materials in Alaska Native languages and Tagalog?
In Alaska, voters can obtain election materials and help from translators either in person or by phone in Alaska Native languages and Tagalog.
Here is the latest information on translation support from officials at the Alaska Division of Elections:
In writing
Voter registration applications: Available in Tagalog, six Yup’ik dialects (General Central Yup’ik, Norton Sound Kotlik Yup’ik, Yukon Yup’ik, Hooper Bay Yup’ik, Bristol Bay Yup’ik, Chevak Cup’ik), Nunivak Cup’ig, and Unangam Tunuu.
Absentee ballot applications: Available in Tagalog, six Yup’ik dialects, Nunivak Cup’ig, and Unangam Tunuu.
Sample ballots: Available in Tagalog, six Yup’ik dialects (see above), Nunivak Cup’ig, Inupiaq (Northern), and Unangam Tunuu.
Real ballots: The actual ballots are in English. All precincts have electronic voting tablets on election day with translated audio available in languages depending on location. Voters are allowed to use sample ballots as an aid.
Official election pamphlets: Available in Tagalog and Alaska Native languages. The division mails the Alaska Native language and Tagalog versions of the pamphlets directly to voter households. The division allows voters to bring the pamphlets to polling places.
Election glossaries: The division issues updated elections glossaries for all Yup’ik dialects. The glossary includes terms and phrases related to ranked choice voting. These glossaries are available on the Division’s website and at some polling locations.
Ranked choice voting FAQ: Available online in six Yup’ik dialects, Tagalog, and Nunivak Cup’ig.
In person
On election days (primary and general), on-call interpreters and bilingual registrars, outreach workers, and poll workers are available in certain communities based on the availability of poll and outreach workers.
Voters may have a person of their choice provide assistance as long as that person is not a candidate, their employer, an agent of their employer, or an agent of their union. The voter’s assistant may go into the voting booth to help the voter cast their ballot.
By phone
Voters may call a toll-free language assistance number on or before Election Day: (866) 954-8683 or (907) 275-2333.
Radio
Public service announcements air in Tagalog, and six Yup’ik dialects, and the division is working on more in Inupiaq and Unangam Tunuu. The announcements cover registration deadlines, candidate deadlines, list maintenance, accessibility assistance, availability of the Official Election Pamphlet, the dates of elections, and when voting will occur. Public service announcement audio and written text are available on each language or dialect’s respective webpage.
By mail
The division sends translated mailers direct to voter households and to tribal councils.
Videos
The division has translated educational videos about the Ranked Choice Voting on its website and YouTube.
How do I fill out my ballot correctly?
Rank the candidates from most- to least-favorite. You can preview sample ballots for the general election at the Division of Elections website.
Do I have to rank every candidate?
No. That being said, you should try to rank at least two. If you choose only one candidate and do not rank anyone second, you will be throwing away the chance to weigh in on the rest of the field. Other voters will be making a choice without you.
What are some common mistakes to avoid when ranking candidates?
Filling out your ranked choice ballot the wrong way means you risk spoiling your general election ballot. Either your vote won’t count, or you’ll end up effectively voting for just one candidate, rather than having your vote redistributed to your next-favorite candidate(s).
1. Do not rank a candidate more than once. Your vote will not count for that candidate more than once.
2. Do not give the same ranking to more than one candidate.
3. Do not skip rankings.
As a reminder, here’s the example ballot from above, with the correct way to indicate your preferences when you ranked choice vote.
Source: Alaska Division of Elections
How do I replace a lost ballot?
Lost your ballot? Contact any Division of Elections office to request a replacement ballot for the general election. The deadline to ask the division to email you a new ballot is November 4 at 5:00 p.m.
What’s next?
Go vote!
