Polls are open across Alaska today, Aug. 18, for the 2026 primary election.
In Nome, voters streamed in and out of Old St. Joseph’s Catholic Church throughout the morning. By lunchtime, officials said a fraction of Nome's 2,719 registered voters had cast a ballot.
“But there’s still plenty of time and space for everyone who would like to come in and vote,” poll worker Lloyd Perrigo said. “So hopefully it’ll be a well-represented election.”
The ballot includes races for governor and lieutenant governor, U.S. Senate, U.S. House and Alaska House District 39, along with a ballot measure on campaign contribution limits.
Voters select one candidate in each race during the primary. The four candidates who receive the most votes in each primary race advance to the general election ballot. Perrigo encouraged voters to review the ballot and make notes before arriving at the polls.
“The difficult thing is there’s 15 or 20 people positioned for several of those spots,” Perrigo said. “So it’s a lot of thinking and studying to figure out who really are the ones you want to vote for.”
November's general election will use Alaska’s ranked choice voting system, in which voters rank each candidate on the ballot from favorite to least favorite.
“For this election, it's pretty straightforward because people are just voting for one candidate in each position,” Perrigo said. “But in the general election, it will be the ranked choice, and for some people, that's still a little confusing and there's questions that will come up in November.”
The Nome-based Region IV Elections Office oversees voting across House districts 37 through 40, spanning northern, western and southwest Alaska, the Aleutian Chain, Tyonek, Port Graham and Nanwalek, one of the state’s broadest election regions.
Perrigo said the regional Division of Election staff worked to distribute materials and staff polling places throughout the region and as of lunch time today, Nome’s polling location didn’t have any issues.
“It seems like we have gotten everything together we needed for holding the election the way it’s supposed to be done. It’s a big job,” he said. “We’ve got a really good crew working here today at Old St. Joe’s. The early ballots that have come in have been processed so that they can be counted quickly. Seems like we’re doing well.”
The state Division of Elections office did not respond to a request for comment on staffing challenges, how early voting went, and the status of mail in ballots from the villages in time for publication.
As voters shuffled out of Old St. Joes around lunch time, Nome resident Vanessa Tahbone, exited the polls with her 2-month-old stuffed in her sweater and 5-year-old child trailing closely behind. She said voting was quick and accessible.
“I knew who the candidates I want to see on the ballot,” Tahbone said. “I think we have really great folks here in Nome. They opened up early voting, which was really nice. I know a lot of folks did a lot of early voting, I know that we've had mail-in ballots, which is also very big, especially for those who don't have access.”
Tahbone said that because it determines which candidates advance to the general election, voting in the primary is particularly important.
“Basically, if you don’t vote, you don’t have a voice. And if you vote, you at least are putting your voice toward some choice rather than none,” she said. “To see that candidate that might be the underdog, or that might not be the number one choice, we need to come out and vote.”
Polls are open at locations across the state until 8 p.m. Tuesday. KNOM will publish the unofficial results as soon as they’re available.
House District 39 polling places:
- Nome — Old St. Joseph’s Catholic Church
- Unalakleet — Aaron Paneok Myles Gonangnan Memorial Hall
- Alakanuk — Alakanuk Community Hall
- Brevig Mission — Multi-Purpose Building
- Diomede — Diomede City Office
- Elim — Elim City Building
- Emmonak — Emmonak Community Center
- Gambell — Qerngughvik Community Hall
- Golovin — Golovin Community Hall
- Hooper Bay — Brown Council Building
- Kotlik — Kotlik City Office
- Koyuk — Koyuk Community Hall
- Marshall — Marshall City Office
- Mountain Village — Mountain Village Community Hall
- Nunam Iqua — Nunam Iqua Community Hall
- Pilot Station — Tutalgaq Community Center
- Russian Mission — Russian Mission City Office
- Savoonga — Savoonga Municipal Building
- Scammon Bay — Scammon Bay Traditional Council
- Shaktoolik — Shaktoolik City Hall
- Shishmaref — Shishmaref Community Hall
- St. Mary’s — St. Mary’s City Hall
- St. Michael — St. Michael City Office
- Stebbins — Stebbins Community Hall
- Teller — Teller Community/Bingo Hall
- Wales — Wales Multi Purpose Building
- White Mountain — New Community Building
