Ranked choice voting has influenced the way candidates run and how Alaskans vote. It has also changed the pace and nature of the election cycle. Many candidates used to have a good idea of their positions before the election.

It’s unclear how close the races will be this year, since so much depends on how voters ranked their second and third choices.

So, those who wanted to be legislators will have to wait.

Republican Cathy Giessel said, “I have no predictions.” After a two year hiatus from the state Legislature, she is now running in a three way race for a South Anchorage State Senate seat. Roselynn Cacy, Democrat Roselynn, and Roger Holland, the incumbent Republican, have approximately a third each.

Giessel is slightly ahead but her victory hinges on how many voters rank her second on their ballots.

Alaskans have grown accustomed to waiting for results. Absentee ballots can only be received two weeks after Election Day. It’s also when ranked choice tabulation kicks into effect in races in which no candidate has more that 50% of the vote.

Giessel stated that while she believes 15 days is a bit excessive, she’s happy for the wait to see what happens.

She said, “I was prepared all along that it might take a while.”

Giessel stated that she has been attending resource development conferences and sending her newsletter. She also said that she is keeping up with less political activities.

“I am also quilting, which has been something I haven’t been able do in a while, as well as painting some rooms in the house. She said that she just completed refinishing furniture. “So, yes, I do lots of fun things.”

Maxine Dibert is a Democrat who is running for Fairbanks’ state House. She holds just below 50% of the first-choice votes. The rest is split between her Republican rivals, Kelly Nash and incumbent Bart LeBon.

She said, “I am a bit on pins-and-dots, just kinda waiting.”

Dibert stated that she knew it would be close. LeBon won his 2018 race by one vote against his Democratic opponent.

To win again, LeBon would need to have a large number of second-choice votes from Nash. However, Nash campaigned to encourage her voters not to rank LeBon.

Dibert, who taught third grade full time throughout her campaign, stated that the lack of unity among her Republican rivals is a strength.

“I feel… quite good. She said that she is able to go to bed at night and still focus on the classroom.

Democrat Denny Wells still has nearly half of the vote in an Anchorage state House race. He also has two Republican rivals. He stated that he knew he wouldn’t be able to answer all the questions on election night.

“I am in the same boat as I was when I entered that date. It’ll be close and we’ll find out on the 23rd. He said that we were still there.

To try and figure out his chances, Wells has been keeping track of each incremental update to the vote count since then.

He said that he was optimistic. After the intense first campaign, he has had some time to relax and spend quality time with his family. Now he is thinking about what comes next.

He asked, “What is the next step that I should take to figure out the logistics of going to Juneau?” “Because I’ve never done it before, it’s all going to be a new learning curve.”

Today, the Division of Elections will count all overseas absentee ballots. The Division of Elections will tabulate the second, third and sometimes fourth-choice votes in order to determine the winner if no candidate for a particular race receives more than 50%.

Tabulation will begin at 4 p.m. Watch.

@caakehorn Results from #alaska #rankedchoicevoting #election #sarahpalin defeated again by #peltola and #murkowski keeps her #senate seat for another term #congress #politics ♬ original sound – caakehorn