2020 Alaska Democratic presidential primary

The 2020 Alaska Democratic presidential primary was scheduled to take place on Saturday, April 4, 2020, in the Democratic Party presidential primaries for the 2020 presidential election. However, in person voting was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, while mail-in voting was extended to April 10, 2020.[1] The Alaska primary is a closed party-run primary, with the state awarding 19 delegates, of which 15 are pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the primary. Voters cast ranked choice voting ballots, with a voter's ballot counting for a backup ranked choice if their first choice was in last place and below the 15 percent threshold for winning delegates. Presumptive nominee Joe Biden won the primary, taking 55.3% of the vote after the distribution of preferences compared to Bernie Sanders 44.7%.

Main article: 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries
2020 Alaska Democratic presidential primary
April 10, 2020
19 Democratic National Convention delegates (15 pledged, 4 unpledged)
The number of pledged delegates won is determined by the popular vote
 
Candidate Joe Biden Bernie Sanders
Home state Delaware Vermont
Delegate count 8 7
Popular vote 10,834 8,755
Percentage 55.31% 44.69%
Election results by state house district
  Joe Biden

On the count of voters' first choices, Biden took 49.9% of the vote, Sanders 39.3% and 10.8% for other candidates who had withdrawn from the race, including 7.1% for Warren. On the final count, Biden had 54.8%, Sanders 44.3% and 0.9% of votes were inactive (i.e., votes that didn't have a preference for either of the candidates left). This meant that Biden won by 55.3% to 44.7%.

Of the 2,133 first round votes (10.8%) not cast for Biden or Sanders, overall, 45.6% went to Biden, 46.4% to Sanders and 8% to neither (i.e., were inactive). Of those who did give a preference for Biden or Sanders, 49.5% went to Biden, 50.5% to Sanders; this slight advantage for Sanders was not enough to overcome Biden's lead for winning the state.[2]

Procedure

Alaska was scheduled to hold its primary on April 4, 2020,[3] although all in-person voting has been cancelled and mail-in ballots will be counted so long as they are received by April 10, 2020.

The draft delegate selection plan calls for a party-run primary using ranked-choice voting, abandoning the caucus system used in past years.[4] After the first round, if any candidate has less than 15% of the vote, then candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and votes for that candidate are applied to the voter's next choice. This process repeats until all remaining candidates meet the 15% threshold.[5]

Voting with paper ballots was, before the in person primary was cancelled, expected to take place throughout the state from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m., though some parts of the Alaska Democratic Party's delegate selection plan make note of a voting period between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. Prospective voters would also have had the option to cast electronic and absentee ballots between March 3 and March 24 given the short voting window; this period was extended to include all ballots arriving by April 10 after in person voting was cancelled. In the closed party-run primary, candidates must meet a threshold of 15 percent statewide (coterminous with the state's sole congressional district) in order to be considered viable. The 14 pledged delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention will be allocated proportionally on the basis of the results of the primary. Of the 15 pledged delegates, 9 are district delegates allocated in proportion to the statewide result and another 2 are allocated to party leaders and elected officials (PLEO delegates), in addition to 4 at-large pledged delegates. These delegate totals do not account for pledged delegate bonuses or penalties from timing or clustering.[5]

Following the primary, precinct and house district caucuses will meet on Saturday, April 18, 2020, to designate delegates for the state convention on Saturday, May 16, 2020, which elects delegates to the convention, including 4 unpledged PLEO delegates (4 members of the Democratic National Committee).[5]

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Results

2020 Alaska Democratic presidential primary final results[6]
Candidate Votes % Delegates[7]
Joe Biden 10,834 55.31 8
Bernie Sanders (suspended) 8,755 44.69 7
Total 19,589 100% 15

Vote count by round[8]
Candidate Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 Round 7 Round 8
Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes %
Joe Biden 9,862 49.911% 9,873 50.053% 9,892 50.155% 9,946 50.452% 9,968 50.617% 10,011 50.848% 10,147 51.589% 10,834 55.307%
Bernie Sanders (suspended) 7,764 39.293% 7,766 39.371% 7,780 39.446% 7,796 39.545% 7,846 39.841% 7,862 39.933% 7,918 40.256% 8,755 44.693%
Elizabeth Warren (suspended) 1,402 7.096% 1,406 7.128% 1,415 7.174% 1,424 7.223% 1,434 7.282% 1,489 7.563% 1,604 8.155% Eliminated
Pete Buttigieg (withdrawn)[9] 248 1.255% 250 1.267% 257 1.303% 268 1.359% 280 1.422% 326 1.656% Eliminated
Amy Klobuchar (withdrawn)[9] 133 0.673% 137 0.695% 143 0.725% 149 0.756% 165 0.838% Eliminated
Tulsi Gabbard (suspended) 124 0.628% 128 0.649% 130 0.659% 131 0.665% Eliminated
Michael Bloomberg (withdrawn)[9] 97 0.491% 99 0.502% 106 0.538% Eliminated
Tom Steyer (withdrawn)[9] 65 0.329% 66 0.335% Eliminated
Undeclared 64 0.324% Eliminated
Total 19,759 100% 19,725 100% 19,723 100% 19,714 100% 19,693 100% 19,688 100% 19,669 100% 19,589 100%

Inactive votes in final round: 170 (0.9%)

Notes

    References
    1. Kate Sullivan. "Rhode Island postpones primaries and Alaska Democrats cancel in-person voting due to coronavirus". CNN. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
    2. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54bee0c9e4b0441ce96c4681/t/5e9275be2121991619e69679/1586656703552/AK+PRP+RCV+Display.pdf
    3. Putnam, Josh. "The 2020 Presidential Primary Calendar". Frontloading HQ. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
    4. Bohrer, Becky (April 4, 2019). "Alaska Democrats consider switching from caucuses to primary for 2020 election". Anchorage Daily News. Associated Press. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
    5. "Alaska Democratic Delegation 2020". The Green Papers. June 10, 2019. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
    6. "Moving Alaska forward: RESULTS OF THE PARTY RUN PRIMARY". alaskademocrats.org. Alaska Democratic Party. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
    7. "Delegate Tracker". interactives.ap.org. Associated Press. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
    8. "RANK-CHOICE VOTING DETAILS" (PDF). Alaska Democratic Party. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
    9. "2020 Delegate Selection/Party-Run Primary". Alaska Democratic Party. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
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