JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump promised repeatedly during his campaign to expand oil drilling in the U.S., which is good news for political leaders in Alaska, where oil is the economic lifeblood and many felt the Biden administration has obstructed efforts to boost the state’s diminished production.

Statewide, an estimated 30,000-35,000 absentee, questioned and early votes remain to be counted. Atqasuk was the last precinct to report results from Election Day itself. Carol Beecher, director of the Division of Elections, said workers also added scanned ballots from the town of Coffman Cove, in Southeast Alaska.

Alaska elections officials added more than 8,500 ballots to the statewide count Wednesday afternoon, but the new ballots didn’t change the leaders of any races. More significantly, the Alaska Division of Elections reported almost 5,

Republican Nick Begich maintained his lead over incumbent U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola. Ten days after the election, thousands of ballots remain to be counted.

Arthur Sammy Heckman Sr. has agreed to plead guilty to a felony charge of unlawful interference with an election after illegally canceling a local 2023 election and hiding the results of a 2022 election while serving as acting mayor of Pilot Station.

An employee of the Alaska Division of Elections sorts election material on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, at division headquarters in Juneau. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon) Republican U.S. House candidate Nick Begich has almost clinched an electoral ...

Alaska voters were deciding a hard-fought race for the state’s only U.S. House seat that could help decide control of that chamber.

Alaska held its 2024 elections for state office on Tuesday, and the results have not been finalized yet, with some absentee ballots yet to be counted. Nonetheless, there is expected to be a shift in the makeup of the Alaska House of Representatives,

GOP challenger Nick Begich led in first round of the state’s unusual ranked choice balloting, but was unable to get a majority, meaning another tabulation will be required.

While final results and tabulation are still a few weeks away, preliminary election results can tell us a lot about the future of ranked choice voting, the minimum wage, and the makeup of the 2025 legislature.

Voters in Alaska will head to the polls on Nov. 5, casting their ballot in the presidential race and the state's at-large congressional district.