Why Alaska's Senate results could take more than two weeks to come in

Alaska’s key U.S. Senate race won’t likely produce an unofficial winner for more than two weeks after Election Day, election officials say. Tuesday’s initial returns will show only voters’ first choices, while absentee and questioned ballots are still counted. The state has 131 hand-count precincts, slowing results, particularly in rural areas. If no candidate wins a majority once all eligible votes are tallied, Alaska will use ranked-choice tabulation, eliminating the last-place contender and transferring ballots until two candidates remain. That matters because Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., whose name resembles Sen. Dan Sullivan, earned 2.5% in the August primary. Alaska timelines call for ranked-choice results on Nov. 18 and certification on Nov. 25.