JUNEAU — The chairman of Alaska’s Republican Party has suggested that another election be held in a state House district where ballot issues during the primary prompted questions about the election results.
Tuckerman Babcock, in a letter to the director of the state Division of Elections, said the House District 40 primary was handled so poorly that the true victor isn’t clear. He cautioned the director, Josie Bahnke, against certifying the primary results.
Unofficial results showed Democrat Dean Westlake beating Democratic state Rep. Benjamin Nageak by 21 votes. Nageak, of Barrow, is a member of the Republican-led House majority. There were no Republican candidates in that race.
Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott, who oversees state elections, has said the division was aware of reports that voters in one precinct received the Republican ballot and the ballot with Democratic, Libertarian and Alaskan Independence Party candidates. He has said that since a candidate’s name appears on only one ballot, no one could vote more than once for any one candidate.
Nageak, meanwhile, has retained legal counsel to look into how the election in his district was conducted. Attorney Tim McKeever, whose firm was retained by Nageak, said it was too soon to say what steps, if any, might be taken.
