There will be a recount in the Anchorage House race in which Democrat Liz Snyder defeated Republican Rep. Lance Pruitt by 13 votes, 4,575 to 4,562.
State Division of Elections workers will start the recount on Friday at 9 a.m.
A group of 11 Anchorage residents requested the recount on Tuesday. They said they believe an election official made mistakes that could change the result.
“When an election is that close — and there’s that margin of votes between the two candidates — then even the smallest error can change the outcome of the election,” said Anchorage lawyer Stacey Stone who represents the residents.
The recount application said some ballots, where the voters’ intent to vote for Pruitt was clear, weren’t counted; there were multiple questioned ballots; and there was a failure to ensure that absentee voter ballot certificates were properly completed.
In addition, the application said there was a failure to properly confirm the results following an electronic count, citing concerns with the Dominion voting system the state recently bought. It also said that a last-minute change in a precinct location led to voter confusion and errors in the ways ballots were cast and counted.
State law allows either candidates or at least 10 voters to request recounts.
Recounts have changed the outcome of four legislative races in Alaska history. Three of those changes broke ties. But Snyder’s lead is larger than the changes in those recounts.
The state will pay for the cost of the recount, because the candidates finished within a half-percent of each other.
