AK Stat § 15.15.350 (2021)
2021 Alaska Statutes|Title 15. Elections|Chapter 15. Elections and Ballots|Sec. 15.15.350. General procedure for ballot count.

(a) The director may adopt regulations prescribing the manner in which the precinct ballot count is accomplished so as to ensure accuracy in the count and to expedite the process. The election board shall account for all ballots by completing a ballot statement containing (1) the number of official ballots received; (2) the number of official ballots voted; (3) the number of official ballots spoiled; (4) the number of official ballots unused and either destroyed or returned for destruction to the elections supervisor or the election supervisor's designee. The board shall count the number of questioned ballots and compare that number to the number of questioned voters in the register. Discrepancies shall be noted and the numbers included in the certificate prescribed by AS 15.15.370. The election board, in hand-count precincts, shall count the ballots in a manner that allows watchers to see the ballots when opened and read. A person handling the ballot after it has been taken from the ballot box and before it is placed in the envelope for mailing may not have a marking device in hand or remove a ballot from the immediate vicinity of the polls. (b) Ballots may not be counted before 8:00 p.m., local time, on the day of the election. (c) All general elections shall be conducted by ranked-choice voting. (d) When counting ballots in a general election, the election board shall initially tabulate each validly cast ballot as one vote for the highest-ranked continuing candidate on that ballot or as an inactive ballot. If a candidate is highest-ranked on more than one-half of the active ballots, that candidate is elected and the tabulation is complete. Otherwise, tabulation proceeds in sequential rounds as follows: (1) if two or fewer continuing candidates remain, the candidate with the greatest number of votes is elected and the tabulation is complete; otherwise, the tabulation continues under (2) of this subsection; (2) if the candidate with the fewest votes is defeated, votes cast for the defeated candidate shall cease counting for the defeated candidate and shall be added to the totals of each ballot's next-highest-ranked continuing candidate or considered an inactive ballot under (g)(2) of this section, and a new round begins under (1) of this subsection. (e) When counting general election ballots, (1) a ballot containing an overvote shall be considered an inactive ballot once the overvote is encountered at the highest ranking for a continuing candidate; (2) if a ballot skips a ranking, then the election board shall count the next ranking. If the next ranking is another skipped ranking, the ballot shall be considered an inactive ballot once the second skipped ranking is encountered; and (3) in the event of a tie between the final two continuing candidates, the procedures in AS 15.15.460 and AS 15.20.430 - 15.20.530 shall apply to determine the winner of the general election; in the event of a tie between two candidates with the fewest votes, the tie shall be resolved by lot to determine which candidate is defeated. (f) The election board may not count an inactive ballot for any candidate. (g) In this section, (1) “continuing candidate” means a candidate who has not been defeated; (2) “inactive ballot” means a ballot that is no longer tabulated, either in whole or in part, by the division because it does not rank any continuing candidate, contains an overvote at the highest continuing ranking, or contains two or more sequential skipped rankings before its highest continuing ranking; (3) “overvote” means an instance where a voter has assigned the same ranking to more than one candidate; (4) “ranking” or “ranked” means the number assigned by a voter to a candidate to express the voter's choice for that candidate; a ranking of “1” is the highest ranking, followed by “2,” and then “3,” and so on; (5) “round” means an instance of the sequence of voting tabulation in a general election; (6) “skipped ranking” means a blank ranking on a ballot on which a voter has ranked another candidate at a subsequent ranking.