Here’s when to expect results in Alaska’s 2026 statewide primary election

Early, in-person voting begins Monday for Alaska’s Aug. 18 state primary election, and thousands of voters have already cast absentee ballots by mail.

Regardless of when — or how — Alaskans vote, ballots will be counted starting on election day, according to a preliminary schedule provided by the Alaska Division of Elections. 

Polls close at 8 p.m. Alaska Daylight Time, and the division expects to have the first preliminary results “between 8:45 p.m. and 9 p.m.”

“There are additional results updates that follow but how many or at what time they will be published will vary,” the division said in an information packet given to reporters.

The final unofficial tally will take place Aug. 28, 10 days after election day, and the division expects to certify official results by Aug. 31.

Any recounts must be requested by Sept. 5, and any lawsuit challenging a result must be filed by Sept. 10.

Under Alaska’s election system, voters pick one candidate for each race in the primary election. The top four vote-getters, regardless of political party, advance to the general election in November. If there are four or fewer candidates in a race, all advance to the general election.

In practice since 2022, lower-finishing Republican candidates have preferred to withdraw after the primary rather than compete against another Republican.

The Valley Republican Women, a notable group from the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, are running ads this year to promote the strategy. Those ads urge Republicans to “consolidate the vote” and “don’t split the field.”

In races with many competitors, a withdrawn candidate will be replaced by another until there are four options on the ballot or no more replacements are available. Any replacements may themselves withdraw.

The deadline to withdraw after the primary is Aug. 31. 

Normally, ballots cast in person are counted on election day itself. Since 2020, votes cast in person have leaned Republican. 

It’s common for some rural Alaska precincts to not report results on election night itself.

Two years ago, for example, only 387 of 403 precincts had reported results by 1 a.m. Wednesday, the day after election day. Four years ago, four precincts needed more than four days to report results from election day.

Historically, some rural precincts have had staffing problems that prevented them from opening on election day. In 2024’s primary, two precincts failed to open, and one opened only in the afternoon. In 2022, two precincts failed to open. In both 2024 and 2022, voters in the affected places were able to cast absentee ballots instead.

Absentee ballots are counted starting on election day, but that counting process extends until Aug. 28. Under Alaska law, absentee ballots — if they are postmarked on or before Aug. 18 — can reach the Division of Elections up to 10 days after election day and still be counted.

Counting an absentee ballot requires the division to first verify the identity information on the outside of the ballot envelope. That verification process starts Aug. 11, the division said, though the ballot inside the envelope won’t be counted until at least election day.

The verification process continues after election day, with ballots added to the tally in batches. The division expects to update results on Aug. 25 and again on Aug. 28, with additional updates possible between those two dates.