All polling places were open on Election Day, Alaska Division of Elections spokesperson Stephen Kirch said in a brief phone interview Tuesday morning.
But there was some confusion over polling places in at least two rural communities – the Yukon River village of Ruby and Ekwok, a southwestern Alaska village with 73 registered voters.
Both locations had opened by midday Tuesday, according to The 907 Initiative, a political advocacy group. Michelle Sparck with the non-partisan group Get Out the Native Vote said by text that she hadn’t heard the locations were open, but said it was “a welcome development.”
The Division of Elections didn’t respond to an additional request for comment by publication.
Two rural Alaska polling stations failed to open in 2024, and several others saw reduced voting hours. This year, some rural absentee voting sites failed to open ahead of midterms, leading the Alaska Democratic Party and other organizations to sue the Alaska Division of Elections.
The U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday that federal workers planned to "monitor or observe” polling locations in Anchorage, Dillingham and Kusilvak to check for compliance with federal voting rights statutes.
The effort is part of the department's plans to deploy 1,000 election monitors in all 50 states for the first time to “ensure election integrity,” the DOJ said.
Nearly 100,000 Alaska voters cast their ballots before Election Day, according to the Division of Elections.
It could be some time before Alaska’s election results become clear. Election results are scheduled to be certified Nov. 25. The first batch of election results is expected by 9 p.m.
Tune into Alaska Public Media from 9 to 11 p.m. for live coverage of races across the state.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly spelled Michelle Sparck's name.
