Alaska Republicans go to the polls on Super Tuesday

Voters in Sitka during the August 2014 state primary election. (Photo by Rachel Waldholz/KCAW)
Voters in Sitka during the August 2014 state primary election. (Photo by Rachel Waldholz/KCAW)

March 1 is Super Tuesday, and Americans in 12 states (and American Samoa) will go to the polls to choose their party’s presidential nominees — including in Alaska, where Republicans are holding their Presidential Preference Poll.

Democrats won’t hold their caucus until later this month on March 26.

Alaska will send 28 delegates to the Republican Convention — the same number as Oregon, despite Alaska’s small population. The state punches above its weight in the nominating contest because it has voted strongly Republican in the past, with an all-GOP congressional delegation and a Republican-controlled state legislature.

There are five candidates on the ballot: businessman Donald Trump, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson. Though there has been almost no public polling in the state, a survey in January by the Alaska Dispatch News – before the Iowa caucuses – showed Trump in the lead among Republicans, followed by Cruz.

Officials are expecting a high turnout. In 2012, more than 14,000 people voted in the preference poll. This year, the state GOP has printed some 25,000 ballots.

Polling stations will be open from 3 to 8 p.m. Only registered Republicans can participate though voters can change their party affiliation on the spot. The Alaska Republican Party website lists polling locations.

Volunteers in each district must then count the paper ballots by hand. GOP officials don’t expect to have final results until about 11:30 p.m.

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