Alaska GOP primary could take weeks to decide

Rep. Don Young (R) held a 152-vote lead over Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell with all but one precinct reporting, but the official results of the Alaska Republican primary may not be decided for weeks.

Parnell’s bid to unseat the sitting congressman is in the hands of nearly 8,000 absentee ballots still trickling in from around the state and abroad.

{mosads}More than 16,000 absentee ballots were sent out, said Alaska Division of Elections spokeswoman Shelly Growden, and about half of those have already been counted. However, those absentee ballots that have yet to arrive won’t be counted until Sept. 5 at the earliest, and a final tally could come as late as Sept. 10.

Both campaigns, meanwhile, projected cautious optimism while also conceding the vote is too narrow to declare a victor.

“It’s just too close to call,” said Parnell spokeswoman Meghan Stapleton. “It just depends on whether the ballots are from Young or Parnell strongholds.”

Stapleton said that while the campaign made a concerted effort to push absentee ballots to their supporters, they have no concrete indication as to whom the ballots will lean.

Young spokesman Michael Anderson said the campaign is confident that Young’s lead will grow as more ballots come in.

“The numbers say we’re winning,” he said, “but when you look at things objectively, it’s too close to call.”

But as the margin of victory remained razor-thin throughout Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, the prospect of an eventual recount or challenge to the final results seemed less remote.

In Alaska, the lieutenant governor’s office oversees the Division of Elections, creating a potential conflict of interest for Parnell. The Young campaign sought to emphasize that it does not expect Parnell to intervene.

The Young campaign has retained legal counsel in case of a development, and has consulted former Democratic Lt. Gov. Stephen McAlpine on its options through the Division of Elections, Anderson said.

“We have not committed to any strategy, but those are the things we’re thinking through right now,” Anderson said.

Stapleton called a recount a “probability,” and said that while the campaign does not necessarily expect a recount, it will be prepared for one.

Growden said that the Division of Elections expects to certify the election results by Sept. 17 or 18. If Parnell or Young were to challenge those results, they would have five days to do so. If the vote margin is less than .5 percent, the challenge would be free of charge. If the potential margin of victory were wider, the campaign waging the challenge would have to pay $15,000 to fund the effort.

Both campaigns indicated they hoped the absentee ballots would provide a wide enough margin to effectively decide the race without doubt.

Parnell or Young will face 2006 Lt. Gov. candidate Ethan Berkowitz, whom Democrats hope will win back Alaska’s at-large seat, which Young has held since 1973.