Ballots cast in Alaska’s general election are adding up. Polls closed statewide at 8:00 p.m. Tuesday. Some races have not been called yet, and the state’s official results can take another few weeks.
But voter participation in Petersburg was remarkably strong for the Nov. 3 general election. The Petersburg-Kupreanof precinct saw more than 1,400 people vote early or on Election Day, combined.
Precinct chair Mary Clemens has worked the polls for several elections. She described the turnout in Petersburg as “excellent.”
“For a midterm, especially, it’s the best turnout I’ve ever seen,” Clemens said, noting turnouts are usually higher for presidential election years. “I mean, counting early voters and today’s voters, we had over 1,400 voters. Which is amazing.”
Of that total, 710 confirmed ballots were cast in-person on Tuesday alone. While that’s a lower Election Day turnout compared to prior years, Clemens said it was actually really high when considering the early vote count was comparable, with 694.
“I don’t believe we’ve ever had that many early voters, either. So it’s a great turnout,” said Clemens.
But early votes cast in Petersburg get counted up with communities throughout the district, which includes Sitka. That means election results only show part of the picture of how Petersburg voters voted.
Clemens called that factor unfortunate.
“We can’t really tell how Petersburg voted accurately, because we only have just about half the vote today, and half early. So it could be a pretty skewed balance,” she said. “It may or may not reflect how Petersburg voted as a whole. It would be nice to know exactly how.”
High school American government students swung by the polls Tuesday to see Election Day in action. Clemens said the visit was “unexpected, but very fun.”
For a town that had a lot of national attention this election cycle, being at the heart of a federal investigation with a local resident on the ballot, Clemens said Election Day “actually ran very smoothly,” despite the “wild lead-up” to Nov. 3.
Election Day results from Petersburg voters
Alaska’s general election results are still unofficial, and only show which candidate voters ranked number one. The in-person votes cast on Election Day in Petersburg are mixed.
Governor
Gov. Mike Dunleavy is term-limited. Petersburg’s top pick for Alaska’s next governor matches the unofficial statewide trend: 373 voters cast ballots for Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins in Petersburg on Tuesday. 228 voted for Republican Bernadette Wilson, who President Donald Trump endorsed. Republicans Dave Bronson and Treg Taylor got 51 votes and 37 votes, respectively.
U.S. Senate
For the U.S. Senate race, Petersburg voters favored incumbent Republican Sen. Dan. S. Sullivan, with 343 votes. Democrat Mary Peltola followed with 298 votes.
Petersburg’s Dan. J. Sullivan — who was on the ballot after a legal battle, ran a Republican campaign but reregistered as undeclared, and is at the center of a federal investigation following spoiler candidate allegations — got 43 votes locally at the polls on Tuesday.
Republican Gerald Heikes got 18 votes.
It’s a close race for Alaska, and the two leading candidates have flip-flopped from the top spot as the state continues to update its unofficial vote results.
U.S. House
For U.S. House, Petersburg voters favored incumbent Republican Rep. Nick Begich III with 360 votes. Independent Bill Hill followed behind with 276 votes. Statewide unofficial results showed a similar vote margin on Wednesday.
Democrat Eric Hafner, who is a felon currently incarcerated in a New York prison, got 34 votes from Petersburg. Libertarian James McDermott got 29.
Southeast district seats
Incumbent Republican Sen. Bert Stedman of Sitka had no challengers in the race to keep his seat. He is slated to serve another four-year term as a state senator for District A.
As for District 2’s state House seat, voters in Petersburg narrowly favored incumbent independent Rep. Rebecca Himschoot of Sitka (335 votes) over Republican challenger Kenny Karl Skaflestad of Hoonah (302 votes), as well as Republican Alston Evans of Klawock (22 votes). Unofficial districtwide votes show Himschoot is slated to have won the seat.
Ballot measures
Petersburg voters supported Ballot Measure 2 by a slim margin. The measure would repeal the state’s ranked choice voting system, open primaries, and campaign finance disclosure rules. As 351 cast ballots in favor of it, 332 people in town voted against the measure on Tuesday. Statewide votes on Ballot Measure 2 are also close, but show Alaskans narrowly rejecting the measure as of Wednesday afternoon.
Ballot Measure 3 would modify existing state statute language for who can vote in an election, specifying that “only” a U.S. citizen could vote. It would have no practical effect, as citizenship is already a requirement to vote in Alaska. In Petersburg, 497 voted in support and 167 were against it at the polls on Tuesday. Statewide, the measure is leading by a landslide.
Four judges were also on the ballot in Petersburg. People largely voted to retain each judge, by roughly a three-to-one margin.
Results remain unofficial, for now
Votes are still being counted statewide; as of Wednesday afternoon, some ballots had not yet arrived at election offices. Other early and absentee votes will be added to the tally. Ranked choice tabulation happens after all the votes are counted up.
The Alaska Division of Elections expects to certify the general election results Nov. 25.
