Alaska’s 2026 ranked choice voting transfers preliminary: FairVote data

Alaska’s Ranked Choice Results Give Crowded-Field Voters a Voice in Final Races

Preliminary results from Alaska’s November 3, 2026 general election show that tens of thousands of voters who backed lower-performing candidates in crowded statewide races still had their ballots count toward one of the two finalists under the state’s ranked choice voting system. In the governor, House, and Senate contests, a majority of voters who ranked a lower-performing candidate first also ranked one of the two finalists somewhere on their ballot — 26,747 voters in the governor’s race, 11,003 in the House race, and 4,481 in the Senate race — giving them a direct say in deciding between the candidates who could actually win.

That stands in sharp contrast to states using traditional plurality voting. In Tuesday’s Ohio Senate race, which featured multiple candidates without ranked choice, 222,781 voters — 4.9% of the electorate — cast ballots for the Libertarian or independent socialist candidates and had no opportunity to weigh in between the major-party contenders who had a realistic chance of victory.

Alaska Senate race remains razor-thin as ranked-choice voting could decide winner

The Senate Math and What It Reveals

The Senate race between incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan and Democrat Mary Peltola illustrates how the transfers work in practice. Of voters who ranked Republican Gerald Heikes first, 44% had their vote transfer to Dan Sullivan in the ranked choice tabulation, compared to just 16% who had it count for Mary Peltola. Meanwhile, 33% of voters who ranked Daniel J. Sullivan below another candidate had their vote ultimately count for Peltola, versus 22% for Dan Sullivan.

The data also points to an unusual pattern among Democrat-leaning voters: a large share who ranked Daniel J. Sullivan first went on to rank Peltola second, which may indicate some form of protest voting. Republican-leaning voters who ranked Daniel J. Sullivan first were more likely to rank Senator Dan Sullivan second, showing stronger partisan alignment within the GOP coalition.

Alaska US Senate race too close to call | 2026 Midterm Election Results

The breakdown of those Sullivan-first ballots by gubernatorial preference adds another layer. Among voters who backed a Republican candidate — Wilson, Bronson, or Taylor — for governor, 2,705 transferred to Peltola and 939 to Senator Sullivan, while 1,815 became inactive. Voters who backed Kreiss-Tomkins for governor split 818 to Peltola and 166 to Sullivan, with 1,371 inactive. Those with blank first rankings for governor transferred 351 to Peltola and 99 to Sullivan, with 144 inactive.

How the System Works and What Comes Next

Alaska’s ranked choice voting system, in place for this election, allows residents to rank candidates in order of preference. A candidate needs more than 50% of first-choice votes to win outright. If no one reaches that threshold, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and their supporters’ votes redistribute to those voters’ second choices — a process the Alaska Dispatch News compares to an instant runoff. This repeats until a candidate exceeds 50%.

Athena Fulton carries her ballot to the ballot box while voting early at City Hall in downtown Anchorage on Monday Nov. 2 — Photo: adn.com

Voters also weighed in on two ballot measures that could reshape the system itself. Ballot Measure 2 would repeal Alaska’s open primaries, ranked choice general elections, and some campaign finance disclosure requirements. Ballot Measure 3 would affirm an existing state law requiring voters to be U.S. citizens. The Alaska Division of Elections has scheduled the official ranked choice tabulation for November 18, with results set to be certified November 25. Early voting took place through Monday, November 2, at locations including City Hall in downtown Anchorage, with the general election held November 3.

The preliminary numbers available as of 3 a.m. Wednesday, November 4, are drawn from the Alaska Division of Elections’ summary report, with full results posted on the division’s official page. As more ballots are counted and the November 18 tabulation approaches, the final distribution of transferred votes will determine the winners in races where no candidate received more than 50% of first-choice votes.