Lines out the door, Alaskans set record for early voting

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Chilly temperatures and snowy conditions have not discouraged Alaskans from voting early this election.

Early Wednesday, just over 40,000 Alaskans — 6% of the electorate — had cast their respective ballots in the general election, according to the State of Alaska Division of Elections. Alaska has roughly 611,000 registered voters.

Region 2 Election Supervisor Jeffrey Congdon said if the current trajectory continues, around 70,000 Alaskans will have voted early in this election, far surpassing the previous record in 2020 when about 53,200 votes were cast.

“Early vote turnout has been huge,” Congdon said. “And we expect, you know, it’s a presidential race, it’s a big election, but our early vote turnout has been quite a bit bigger than we had expected, and I see that that’s a trend nationwide.”

Congdon said he isn’t sure exactly what’s causing the surge, although candidates often encourage early voting so that they can use their campaign funds to target people who have not yet voted.

Congdon said some people don’t want to risk something coming up on Election Day that might keep them from getting to the polls.

“If there is a snowstorm on Nov. 5, you don’t have to worry about it,” he said. “So there’s that personal advantage of making sure your vote is in, your vote is counted and you’re done.”

Ballots cast by Thursday (Halloween) will be counted on Election Night. All votes cast after then will be set aside and counted within a week after the election.

Congdon said those votes are “placed in affidavit envelopes that each voter signs, and then those envelopes are opened after election history is done from all of the polling places, so that we can verify there’s no duplicate voting. So nobody has an opportunity to vote at the early vote site as well as at the polls.”

Congdon said the Division of Elections is still expecting a big turnout at the polls on Election Day.

He urged voters to remain patient and polite at the polls, saying to be prepared for long lines.

Copyright 2024 KTUU. All rights reserved.