Alaska's lieutenant governor plans recount of narrowly defeated ranked choice voting repeal measure

Alaska Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom said Monday that she intends to recount a narrowly defeated ballot initiative to repeal ranked choice voting and open primaries.

After a final ballot count last week, Ballot Measure 2 was defeated 49.9% to 50.1%. The repeal effort failed by 664 votes.

“Alaska law ensures the integrity of our elections, and with results as close as these, a recount will be conducted as outlined by statute,” Dahlstrom said in a prepared statement.

Under Alaska law, the state will pay for a recount in races where the margin is less than 0.5%. Ballot Measure 2 is within that margin....