By AlaskaWatchman.com

Rep. Bryce Edgmon

In an effort to promote fair and legal elections, the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) released a report showing that a total of 516 U.S. elections have ended in ties, including one from Alaska.

“403 tied elections occurred with the 2022 election cycle alone,” the report states. “These tie elections illustrate that just one illegal vote can affect the outcome of an election.”

The Alaska tie came back in 2006, when State Rep. Bryce Edgmon (D-Dillingham) finished in a dead heat with longtime state Rep. Carl Moses during the Democratic primary. Each man had 1,534 votes, and the race was ultimately decided by a coin-toss.

“There were several hundred people present and I think every possible media outlet – radio, TV, print, you name it – was there en masse,” Edgmon recalled. “The stakes were pretty dramatic. We’d never really done anything like this before. It came down to just the flip of a coin that hit the side of a sea otter pelt that was on the floor, just sort of a symbolic covering of the floor, and bounced up to tails. At that moment I knew I had won, and within 15 seconds my brother had jumped up on stage and almost pushed me back in my chair, and the whole place erupted in applause. A very, very dramatic scene.”

Former State Rep. Carl Moses

PILF President J. Christian Adams, who traveled to Alaska last year to alert Gov. Mike Dunleavy and state lawmakers about election security problems in Alaska such as deceased voters, duplicate ballots and multiple state voters, said these close races illustrate the importance of clean, fair elections.

“The media claims that voter fraud happens on such a small scale it could never impact who wins an election,” Adams said. “This report proves that every single vote matters. We do not want an illegal ballot effecting the outcome of an election. Everyone needs to get out there and vote!”

Public Interest Legal Foundation is the nation’s only public interest law firm dedicated wholly to election integrity. The Foundation exists to assist states and others to aid the cause of election integrity and fight against lawlessness in American elections. Drawing on numerous experts in the field, PILF seeks to protect the right to vote and preserve the Constitutional framework of American elections.

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Every Vote Counts: Report shows 516 U.S. election ties, including 1 in Alaska

Joel Davidson
Joel is Editor-in-Chief of the Alaska Watchman. Joel is an award winning journalist and has been reporting for over 24 years, He is a proud father of 8 children, and lives in Palmer, Alaska.


2 Comments

  • Peggy Kemp says:

    Can’t believe lgbtq are messing with Alaskan natives. Natives can take care of themselves. Let their councils handle it.
    PS can’t believe native Alaskans even listen to them!

  • Lobo says:

    “The media claims that voter fraud happens on such a small scale it could never impact who wins an election,”.. Yesss… I always go to the media when I want the truth.. Well… Not really.. From what I am seeing regarding voting machine malfunctions (programmed pauses) across the country, I look for even more spin on that. On another note: Alaska needs laws similar to Florida regarding DOJ Brown Shirts intimidating poll watchers as well.. They only dispatched the tyrants to key state/county polling districts.. I VOTED TODAY.