Alaska’s lieutenant governor plans recount of narrowly defeated ranked choice voting repeal measure

Alaska Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom said Monday that she intends to recount a narrowly defeated ballot initiative to repeal ranked choice voting and open primaries.

After a final ballot count last week, Ballot Measure 2 was defeated 49.9% to 50.1%. The repeal effort failed by 664 votes.

“Alaska law ensures the integrity of our elections, and with results as close as these, a recount will be conducted as outlined by statute,” Dahlstrom said in a prepared statement.

Under Alaska law, the state will pay for a recount in races where the margin is less than 0.5%. Ballot Measure 2 is within that margin.

Dahlstrom, a Republican, is the top elected official in charge of the state’s election system. Officials said the Alaska Division of Elections has already begun preparations to recount 320,574 votes cast for and against the repeal measure.

“We are actively gathering the necessary resources to conduct a thorough and efficient recount,” said Carol Beecher, Alaska Divisions of Elections director.

Kelly Howell, a spokesperson for the lieutenant governor’s office, said by email Monday that there has been no evidence of fraud found from the Nov. 5 election.

State election officials are double-checking the machine-counted result. Officials expect to certify the election Saturday. After that, a recount can be formally requested.

The Alaska Republican Party said separately Sunday that it would request a recount.

“We look forward to a comprehensive review and recount,” said Carmela Warfield, chair of the Alaska Republican Party, in a statement on social media Sunday.

Beecher has a long history of supporting and working for Alaska GOP politicians. Dahlstrom is also a Republican, and ran for a U.S. House seat this year but withdrew after the August primary when she fell behind now Rep.-elect Nick Begich III, also a Republican, and Democratic incumbent Mary Peltola.

Howell said that Dahlstrom and Beecher would not recuse themselves from overseeing the recount process.

Warfield said the Alaska Republican Party is working with the Republican National Committee “to oversee the process.” The party has “engaged” Dhillon Law Group “to be on the ground” during the recount and review, she said.

Harmeet K. Dhillon, a Trump-aligned attorney and a California RNC committeewoman, heads the Dhillon Law Group. She has been involved in recent high-profile election cases. She was recently in Arizona, a critical battleground state, as part of a Trump-backed “election integrity” effort.

“Ms. Dhillon and her firm are a nationally recognized, seasoned election integrity legal team, and bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to this recount process,” Warfield said.

The Alaska Republican Party’s counsel, Stacey Stone, will also assist in observing the recount, Warfield said.

Warfield did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Under state law, political parties can send two or more observers to witness a recount at their own expense. The recount can take up to 10 days. The recount can then be appealed to state Superior Court.

Juli Lucky, executive director of No on 2, the group in favor of retaining the election system, said that elections within a certain margin are often subject to recounts.

“Alaskans voted to protect open primaries and ranked choice voting. We look forward to having those final results certified,” she said by text message.

The Alaska Democratic Party supported retaining ranked choice voting and open primaries at the ballot box. Executive director Lindsay Kavanaugh said the party is monitoring the planned recount process.

“A recount will show that — in fact — the ballot measure was defeated,” she said.

In 2020, then-Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer ordered an audit of the ballot measure that implemented ranked choice voting and open primaries in Alaska. Meyer, a Republican, requested the audit to reassure Alaskans that the state’s voting equipment, which used Dominion Voting Systems, functioned accurately.

Of 361,400 votes cast in the 2020 election, the audit showed the machine count was more than 99% accurate. The hand recount came up with a total of 24 votes that were different from results certified by the Alaska Division of Elections.