A razor-close Anchorage Assembly contest between conservative Dave Donley and left-leaning Janice Park may be headed to a recount.
According to a notice from the city clerk, a recount must happen within seven days of the final certification if the leading candidate is ahead by less than a 0.5% margin.
As of April 14, the District 4 Midtown Anchorage race has Park leading Donley by 0.44%. If the results after the April 23 Public Session of Canvass show the margin remains less than 0.5%, an automatic recount will take place at the official Election Center on Friday, April 24, beginning at 10 a.m.
The recount will be open to observation by the public. The process will be limited to reviewing the electronic version of the ballot images, adjudicating those images, tabulating them, and comparing them to the original results for the District 4 race.
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If the recount occurs, there will be a special meeting of the Election Commission on Monday, April 27, at 2 p.m. to produce a report of the results of the recount for the Assembly. The Assembly is scheduled to certify the election at its April 28 meeting.
Donley, a longtime conservative Anchorage school board member, led on election night, April 7, but has since fallen behind his Planned Parenthood-backed opponent as mail-in ballots have continued to trickle in. He is seeking to win a seat on an Assembly that is already dominated by leftist members. As of April 14, he now trails by 47 votes – 4,968 to 5,015.
