Alaska’s ballot measure to repeal ranked choice voting faces shrinking margins of support.

Alaska elections officials reported on Wednesday the addition of over 8,500 ballots to the statewide count, which did not alter the leading positions in current races. However, the Alaska Division of Elections noted a significant jump of nearly 5,000 completed absentee ballots since the previous day, raising questions about the impact on key measures and races.

The focal point of this update is Ballot Measure 2, advocating for the repeal of Alaska’s open primary and ranked-choice general election system. Initially, the measure led by 4,137 votes on Friday, but that margin has tightened significantly, with the latest count showing a lead of only 2,412 votes.

As reported Wednesday, there are 159,345 ballots still pending review, with about 30,033 estimated as uncounted. The majority of these ballots have already been returned, suggesting limited changes in upcoming counts.

In the U.S. House race, Republican Nick Begich’s lead over Democrat Mary Peltola has diminished slightly, dropping from 10,133 votes on Friday to 9,435. Since it appears Begich will fall short of the 50% mark, ranked choice voting will occur on November 20 to reallocate votes from lesser candidates.

The unofficial tallies indicate Peltola is unlikely to gain enough second-choice votes to surpass Begich. Meanwhile, downballot races remained stable, with Rep. Cliff Groh, D-Anchorage, maintaining a narrow 19-vote lead over Republican challenger David Nelson.