It will still be a while before we know the results of the too-close-to-call House District 36 race. But in the meantime, here are some election-night numbers to consider.
The overall turnout for the district was just shy of 41 percent. The highest turnout was in Metlakatla, which had nearly 49 percent of registered voters show up at the polls. Close behind were North Tongass 2 and Wrangell, both hovering at around 46 percent.
The precinct with the lowest turnout on Tuesday was Ketchikan No. 1, which had 31.8 percent.
In the House District 36 race, independent Dan Ortiz is leading Republican Chere Klein by a mere 19 votes. By precinct, Ortiz took the majority of votes in Ketchikan 1 and 2, Saxman, Hydaburg and Metlakatla.
Klein won the Wrangell, South Tongass, North Tongass 1 and 2, and Ketchikan 3 precincts.
District 36 voters followed the state trend on the U.S. Senate race, with 2,147 voting for incumbent Mark Begich, and 2,701 choosing Republican challenger Dan Sullivan. In the U.S. House race, the district chose incumbent Don Young, with 3,157 votes, over Democratic challenger Forrest Dunbar, 1,624 votes.
The local district split from the state trend on the governor’s race, although it is still a close vote. District 36 preferred incumbent Sean Parnell, who received 2,488 votes to challenger Bill Walker’s 2,368.
On the ballot propositions, House District 36 voters said yes to legalizing marijuana, with 2,822 supporting the initiative and 2,388 voting no. Local voters also supported raising the minimum wage and adding another layer of legislative review to proposed mining developments in Bristol Bay.
The three judges on the House District 36 ballot all were retained by a wide margin. They are Alaska Supreme Court Justice Craig Stowers, Juneau-based Superior Court Judge Lewis Menendez and Ketchikan-based District Court Judge Kevin Miller.
Before final results are known for the tight races, the Alaska Division of Elections still needs to count various outstanding ballots. According to the division’s website, questioned ballots will be reviewed starting Thursday, and early and absentee ballots that have not yet been counted will be reviewed starting Nov. 11.
But, absentee-by-mail ballots still can arrive through Nov. 19, depending on where they were mailed from, so it’s possible that the final numbers for the local race won’t be known until the end of the month. The Alaska Division of Elections expects to certify Tuesday’s results by Nov. 28.
The state doesn’t have details on how many outstanding ballots still need to be counted for specific districts. There are at least 25,000 absentee ballots statewide still to be counted.