After the ballots — including absentee - were counted in this Fairbanks district, both candidates — Democrat Kathryn Dodge and Republican Bart LeBon have exactly 2,661 votes. in this Republican leaning district, the Democratic incumbent, Scott Kawasaki, gave up the seat to run for the state Senate, challenging the Senate President, Pete Kelly. After the vote counts went back and forth, Kawasaki is ahead by 173 votes. Wednesday was the two week deadline for international absentee ballots to be in. According to the Fairbanks Daily News Miner, there are no more than 97 ballots that could still come in. But Republican Pete Kelly hasn’t conceded yet and the Associated Press said he’s still contemplating calling for a recount.
The Anchorage Daily News says:
Final certification of the election results is scheduled for Monday, Alaska Division of Elections spokeswoman Samantha Miller said, but the deadline for international absentee ballots to arrive in Fairbanks was Wednesday, and the elections office there concluded counting in the afternoon.
The tie leaves control of the Alaska House of Representatives uncertain. If LeBon wins, a Republican-aligned caucus will control 21 seats, the minimum needed for a majority. Control of the majority allows a caucus to elect the speaker of the House and set the agenda for the two-year legislative term.
In Alaska, ties are resolved by a coin flip. Stay tuned.
UPDATE Nov 26, 2018: The Fairbanks News Miner reported the Division of Elections certified the race as still a tie. However, there is one ballot that may or may not yet count for the Democrat. You can read it all here.