Recount begins in Anchorage House race decided by 13 votes

JUNEAU, Alaska — Election officials began a recount Friday in an Alaska House race that Republican House Minority Leader lost by 13 votes.

Results certified Monday showed Democrat Liz Snyder had defeated Rep. Lance Pruitt in a rematch from 2018, when Snyder lost. The recount was not requested by Pruitt but by 11 others identified in their petition as voters in the Anchorage House district.

State law allows a defeated candidate or 10 qualified voters who believe a mistake was made in the ballot count to request a recount.

Two attorneys on behalf of the recount request group, Joe Geldhof and Stacey Stone, attended the recount in Juneau, as did Snyder and Holly Wells, an attorney for Snyder. The count was being conducted by members of a bipartisan review board, said Tiffany Montemayor, a spokesperson for the state Division of Elections.

It was not immediately clear how long the recount would take. More than 9,000 votes were cast in the race.

Separately, Montemayor said an audit of a statewide ballot measure that narrowly passed last month would begin Monday. The audit was sought by Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer, who oversees elections. Meyer has said the audit is intended to help put to rest questions some have raised about the validity of election results tied to the vote tabulation equipment the state uses.

The measure, which would end party primaries and institute ranked choice voting for general elections, passed with 174,032 votes, compared to 170,251 no votes, according to the certified results. Meyer has said he believes the measure passed fairly.

A lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the measure has been filed in state court.

Becky Bohrer, The Associated Press