How Ranked Choice Voting Works in Alaska’s Senate Race

Who gets eliminated, where their votes go, and why third place still matters in the Peltola and Sullivan contest.

By Rob E | November 4, 2026

If you are watching Alaska’s U.S. Senate race from another state, the results can look unfinished even after two candidates have fallen far behind. That is because voters were allowed to name backup choices. Those choices can still help decide the winner.

The basic idea is simple: count the votes, eliminate the candidate in last place, move that candidate’s ballots to the voters’ next remaining choices, and count again. Repeat if necessary. Nobody has to return to the polls.

This race is for a seat in the U.S. Senate in Washington. It is separate from elections to Alaska’s state Senate.

The race that makes the rules matter

In a November 4 morning snapshot, Democrat Mary Peltola led Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan by just 626 first choice votes. Neither had more than half. WPXI’s 9:03 a.m. Eastern update, citing the Associated Press, reported the following totals.

Candidate	First choice votes
Mary Peltola, Democrat	102,701
Dan S. Sullivan, Republican incumbent	102,075
Gerald L. Heikes, Republican	4,821
Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., undeclared	3,583

Snapshot: November 4, 2026, 9:03 a.m. Eastern (6:03 a.m. Pacific). Rechecked before publication November 4. Unofficial and incomplete; a newer count could not be verified. For current returns, use the results link below.

For updates, open the Alaska Division of Elections results page and map. It also links to reports for other contests. The map shows where votes came from; the ranked choice reports show where ballots go after eliminations. Those are different questions.

There are four named Senate candidates, plus a write-in option. The two candidates with smaller totals still matter because their voters may have ranked one of the leaders as a backup.

Does the person in third place get eliminated too

Yes, if another elimination is needed and that person is now last among the remaining candidates. Fourth place goes first. Officials then count the updated totals. If the process continues, the new last place candidate is eliminated too. Rankings can change between rounds, so the order is not locked in at the start.

Under Alaska’s counting rules, someone with more than half of first choices wins outright. Otherwise, ballots move through elimination rounds. With two candidates left, the one with more votes wins.

In this made-up example, D starts last with 10 votes. Four of those ballots go to B and six go to C. The new totals are A 40, B 39 and C 21. Nobody has more than half.

Now C is last, so C is eliminated. All 21 ballots currently with C are examined, including the six that came from D. Their next remaining choices send 15 to B and four to A. Two have no remaining choice and become inactive. B wins, 54 to 44.

The whole election does not reset. A and B keep the votes already with them. Only ballots assigned to the eliminated candidate move.

A single ballot can move more than once. A voter who ranked D, then C, then B would have their vote count for D in the first round, C in the second, and B in the last. It never counts for two candidates at once.

What happens if a voter picks only one person

Their ballot counts for that person as long as the candidate stays in the race. If the candidate is eliminated and the ballot has no usable backup, it stops counting in later rounds. Election reports call that an inactive or exhausted ballot.

That is why the example ends with 98 active ballots from 100 voters. B’s 54 votes are about 55.1 percent of those 98. A ballot that stops participating is not automatically given to another candidate. The state’s definitions also explain ranking errors that can stop a ballot from continuing.

Why the other Republican’s votes are not automatic

Heikes’ voters could help Sullivan. They could also choose Peltola next or leave no backup. Party labels alone cannot tell us what they wrote on their ballots.

In Alaska’s August 2022 special House election, Republican Nick Begich was eliminated with 53,810 votes. The official transfer report shows that about half reached fellow Republican Sarah Palin, while nearly three in ten reached Democrat Mary Peltola.

Peltola won that election. These figures do not predict how Heikes voters ranked their choices in 2026. They show why adding every Republican candidate’s total together does not establish who will win.

Could the two Sullivans affect the result

They could, but the first choice totals cannot measure how much. The state identifies Dan S. Sullivan as the Republican incumbent and Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. as undeclared.

Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.’s 3,583 votes in the snapshot exceeded the 626 vote gap between the leaders. That makes his ballots potentially consequential. It does not prove those voters meant to choose the senator.

If the smaller candidates remain at the bottom of the count, their usable rankings can send ballots to either leading candidate. A ballot can pass through both smaller candidates before reaching one of the leaders. That is why we need the transfers before claiming the second Sullivan decided the race.

AP reported allegations of recruitment intended to confuse voters. Peltola’s campaign denied involvement, and Daniel J. Sullivan denied being recruited or having contact with it. Even a final transfer report will show recorded rankings, not necessarily whether a voter was confused or how they would have voted without him on the ballot.

When will Alaska count the backup choices

For the 2026 general election, the state lists November 18 for ranked choice results, after eligible ballots are reviewed and counted. The official calendar allows qualifying ballots postmarked by Election Day to arrive later: through November 13 from domestic addresses and November 18 from overseas addresses.

The lead changes reported on election night happened as more first choices were counted. They were not ranked choice transfers. Outstanding ballots can still move either leader above half before transfers are needed.

For readers following the race on a map, watch the date and whether the display shows first choices or final rounds. A high share of precincts reporting does not mean the same share of all ballots has been counted.

Sullivan has a possible route through backup choices. Peltola does too. To understand the finish, follow what the eliminated candidates’ voters actually chose. Their party labels cannot answer that for them.