2020 Alaska Democratic presidential primary

2020 Alaska Democratic presidential primary
← WI WY →
19 delegates (15 pledged, 4 unpledged); to the Democratic National Convention ; The number of pledged delegates won is determined by the popular vote
	Election results by state house district; Joe Biden

Last updated October 31, 2024

Pledged national convention delegates
Type	Del.
CD at-large	9
PLEO	2
At-large	4
Total pledged delegates	15

The 2020 Alaska Democratic presidential primary had been scheduled to take place on April 4, 2020, in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election, but in-person voting was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and mail-in voting was extended to April 10, 2020.^[1] The Alaska primary was a closed party-run primary, with the state awarding 19 delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of which 15 were 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 four ranked backup choices if their original choice was in last place and below the 15 percent threshold for winning delegates.

Former vice president and presumptive nominee Joe Biden won the rather narrow primary, taking 55% of the vote and 8 delegates after the distribution of preferences compared to senator Bernie Sanders' 44% and one delegate less. On the count of first choices, Biden and Sanders had taken approximately 50% and 39% of the vote, while 11% were spread between six other candidates who had withdrawn from the race, including 7% for senator Elizabeth Warren. On the final count, around 1% of votes were inactive, as they did not include a choice for one of the candidates that had overcome the 15 percent hurdle.

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 had been scheduled to hold its primary on April 4, 2020, a Saturday, along with the Hawaii and Louisiana primaries and Wyoming caucuses on the same day,^[3] but because of the COVID-19 pandemic the state party decided on March 23, 2020 that all voting had to occur by mail instead and that ballots received by April 10 would be counted. The Alaska Democratic Party's draft delegate selection plan had called for a party-run primary using ranked-choice voting, abandoning the caucus system used in past years^[4] and matching a national trend for primaries. After the first round of vote-counting, when candidates had less than 15% of the vote, the candidate with the fewest votes was eliminated and votes for that candidate were applied to the voter's next choice. This process was repeated until all remaining candidates met the 15% threshold.^[5]

Voting with paper ballots was originally expected to take place throughout the state from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. on a Saturday (though some parts of the Alaska Democratic Party's delegate selection plan made 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 then extended to include all ballots arriving by April 10, as in-person voting had been cancelled. In the party-run closed primary, candidates had to meet a threshold of 15 percent statewide (coterminous with the state's sole congressional district) in order to be considered viable.

The 15 pledged delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention were allocated proportionally on the basis of the results of the primary. Of these, 9 were district delegates allocated in proportion to the statewide result, and another 2 were allocated to party leaders and elected officials (PLEO delegates), in addition to 4 at-large delegates, both also according to the statewide result.^[5] Originally planned with 14 delegates, the final number included a 10% bonus of 1 additional delegate on the 9 district and 3 at-large delegates by the Democratic National Committee due to the April date, which belonged to Stage II on the primary timetable.^[6]^[7]

Following the primary, precinct and house district caucuses met on April 18, 2020 and elected delegates to the state convention. On May 16, 2020, the state convention elected all delegates for the Democratic National Convention. The delegation also included 4 unpledged PLEO delegates: 4 members of the Democratic National Committee.^[5]

Candidates

The following individuals appeared on the ballot in Alaska:^[8]

Running

Joe Biden

Withdrawn

There was also an "undeclared" option.^[8] Bloomberg, Buttigieg, Klobuchar and Steyer had submitted their withdrawal with the Alaska Democratic Party (while the other withdrawn candidates were considered as suspended by the party), but they remained on the ballot, and votes for them were counted.^[9]

Results

2020 Alaska Democratic presidential primary final results^[2]
Candidate	Votes	%	Delegates^[10]
Joe Biden	10,834	54.83	8
Bernie Sanders (withdrawn)	8,755	44.31	7
Inactive votes^{[lower-alpha 1]}	170	0.86
Total	19,759	100%	15

Vote count by round^[2]
Candidate	Round 1		Round 2		Round 3		Round 4		Round 5		Round 6		Round 7		Round 8
Candidate	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
Joe Biden	9,862	49.91	9,873	50.05	9,892	50.15	9,946	50.45	9,968	50.62	10,011	50.85	10,147	51.59	10,834	55.31
Bernie Sanders (withdrawn)	7,764	39.29	7,766	39.37	7,780	39.45	7,796	39.55	7,846	39.84	7,862	39.93	7,918	40.26	8,755	44.69
Elizabeth Warren (withdrawn)	1,402	7.10	1,406	7.13	1,415	7.17	1,424	7.22	1,434	7.28	1,489	7.56	1,604	8.15	Eliminated
Pete Buttigieg (withdrawn)	248	1.26	250	1.27	257	1.30	268	1.36	280	1.42	326	1.66	Eliminated
Amy Klobuchar (withdrawn)	133	0.67	137	0.69	143	0.73	149	0.76	165	0.84	Eliminated
Tulsi Gabbard (withdrawn)	124	0.63	128	0.65	130	0.66	131	0.66	Eliminated
Michael Bloomberg (withdrawn)	97	0.49	99	0.50	106	0.54	Eliminated
Tom Steyer (withdrawn)	65	0.33	66	0.33	Eliminated
Undeclared	64	0.32	Eliminated
Total	19,759	100%	19,725	99.8%	19,723	99.8%	19,714	99.8%	19,693	99.7%	19,688	99.6%	19,669	99.5%	19,589	99.1%

↑ Votes which had all its 5 ranked vote-choices allocated towards eliminated candidates who did not reach the threshold of 15%.

Related Research Articles

The 2020 Nevada Democratic presidential caucuses took place on February 22, 2020, with early voting on February 14–18, and was the third nominating contest in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election, following the New Hampshire primary the week before. The Nevada caucuses were a closed caucus, meaning that only registered Democrats could vote in this caucus. The state awarded 49 delegates towards the national convention, of which 36 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the caucuses.

The 2020 California Democratic presidential primary took place on March 3, 2020, as one of 15 contests scheduled on Super Tuesday in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election, following the South Carolina primary the weekend before. The California primary formed an unusual part of Super Tuesday as it had historically departed from its typical June date. It was a semi-closed primary, with the state awarding 494 delegates towards the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of which 415 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the primary.

The 2020 Colorado Democratic presidential primary took place on March 3, 2020, as one of 15 contests scheduled on Super Tuesday in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election, following the South Carolina primary the weekend before. The Colorado primary, the first in the state since 2000, was a semi-closed primary and awarded 79 delegates towards the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of which 67 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the primary.

The 2020 Massachusetts Democratic presidential primary took place on March 3, as one of 15 contests scheduled on Super Tuesday in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election, following the South Carolina primary the weekend before. The Massachusetts primary was a semi-closed primary, with the state awarding 114 delegates towards the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of which 91 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the primary.

The 2020 Minnesota Democratic presidential primary took place on March 3, 2020, as one of 15 contests scheduled on Super Tuesday in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election, following the South Carolina primary the weekend before. The Minnesota primary, only the fifth in the state's history and the first since 1992, was an open primary, with the state awarding 91 delegates towards the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of which 75 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the primary. Early voting was possible for just over six weeks beginning January 17, 2020.

The 2020 North Carolina Democratic presidential primary took place on March 3, 2020, as one of 15 contests scheduled on Super Tuesday in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election, following the South Carolina primary the weekend before. The North Carolina primary was a semi-closed primary, with the state awarding 122 delegates towards the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of which 110 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the primary.

The 2020 Tennessee Democratic presidential primary took place on March 3, 2020, as one of 15 contests scheduled on Super Tuesday in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election, following the South Carolina primary the weekend before. The Tennessee primary was an open primary, with the state awarding 73 delegates towards the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of which 64 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the primary.

The 2020 Utah Democratic presidential primary took place on March 3, 2020, as one of 15 contests scheduled on Super Tuesday in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election, following the South Carolina primary the weekend before. The Utah primary was an open primary, with any registered voter able to participate. The primary awarded 34 delegates towards the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of which 29 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the primary.

The 2020 Vermont Democratic presidential primary took place on March 3, 2020, as one of 15 contests scheduled on Super Tuesday in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election, following the South Carolina primary the weekend before. The Vermont primary was an open primary, with the state awarding 24 delegates towards the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of which 16 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the primary.

The 2020 Virginia Democratic presidential primary took place on March 3, 2020, as one of 15 contests scheduled on Super Tuesday in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election, following the South Carolina primary the weekend before. The Virginia primary was an open primary, wherein any registered voter can vote, regardless of party registration. The state awarded 124 delegates towards the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of which 99 were pledged delegates allocated at the local level.

The 2020 Idaho Democratic presidential primary took place on March 10, 2020, as one of several states voting the week after Super Tuesday in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election. The Idaho primary required that voters would be registered Democrats or unaffiliated, and awarded 25 delegates towards the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of whom 20 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the primary results.

The 2020 Washington Democratic presidential primary took place on March 10, 2020, as one of several states voting the week after Super Tuesday in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election. The state-run semi-open primary, which was used instead of party-run caucuses for the first time by Washington's Democrats, awarded 109 delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of which 89 were pledged delegates allocated according to the results of the primary.

The 2020 North Dakota Democratic presidential caucuses took place on March 10, 2020, as one of several states voting the week after Super Tuesday in the Democratic Party primaries and caucuses for the 2020 presidential election. While the contest has in effect been a party-run open primary for the first time in North Dakota's history, the state party retained the traditional caucus name, classifying it as a firehouse caucus. The state awarded 18 delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of which 14 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the election.

The 2020 Hawaii Democratic presidential primary had been scheduled to take place on April 4, 2020, a Saturday, in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election, but in-person voting was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and mail-in voting was extended to May 22, 2020. Instead, voters had until May 22 to submit mail-in ballots. The Hawaii primary was a closed party-run primary, awarding 33 delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of which 24 were 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 two ranked backup choices if their original choice was in last place and below the 15 percent threshold for winning delegates.

The 2020 Kansas Democratic presidential primary took place until May 2, 2020, in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election, as in-person voting had been cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Kansas primary was a closed party-run primary, undertaken completely by mail-in voting, it was the sole contest held on that date. The state awarded 45 delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of which 39 were 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 four ranked backup choices if their original choice was in last place and below the 15 percent threshold for winning delegates.

The 2020 Indiana Democratic presidential primary had been scheduled to take place on May 5, 2020, but was postponed to June 2 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, alongside seven delayed and regular primaries on that day in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election. The Indiana primary was an open primary, with the state awarding 89 delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of whom 82 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the primary results.

The 2020 New Jersey Democratic presidential primary took place on July 7, 2020, alongside the Delaware primary, as part of the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election. It was originally planned for June 2 together with four other primaries, but was moved due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The New Jersey primary was a semi-closed primary, with the state awarding 146 delegates, of which 126 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the primary.

The 2020 Georgia Democratic presidential primary was held on June 9, 2020, alongside the West Virginia primary, as part of the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election. It was originally scheduled for March 24, 2020, but was moved to June 9 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and previously cast early mail-in votes were disallowed and separately counted. The election coincided with primaries for Georgia's Class 2 Senate seat and Georgia's U.S. House of Representatives seats. The Georgia primary was an open primary, which awarded 118 delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of whom 105 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the primary results.

The 2020 Maine Democratic presidential primary took place on March 3, 2020, as one of 15 contests scheduled on Super Tuesday in the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election, following the South Carolina primary the weekend before. The Maine primary, the first in the state since 2000, was a closed primary, meaning that only registered Democrats could vote in this primary, but unenrolled voters were permitted to enroll in a party at the polls with same day registration. The state awarded 32 delegates towards the 2020 Democratic National Convention, 24 of which were pledged delegates allocated based on the results of the primary. The primary election coincided with a people's veto referendum to reject changes to Maine's vaccination laws.

The 2020 Wyoming Democratic presidential caucuses had been scheduled to take place on April 4, 2020 in the Democratic Party primaries and caucuses for the 2020 presidential election, but in-person voting was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and mail-in voting was extended to April 17, 2020. The Wyoming caucuses were a closed caucus, with the state awarding 18 delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of which 14 were pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the caucus. Voters cast ranked-choice voting ballots, with a voter's ballot counting for four ranked backup choices if their original choice was in last place and below the 15 percent threshold for winning delegates.

References

↑ Kate Sullivan. "Rhode Island postpones primaries and Alaska Democrats cancel in-person voting due to coronavirus". CNN. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
1 2 3 "RANK-CHOICE VOTING DETAILS" (PDF). Alaska Democratic Party. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 13, 2020. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
↑ Putnam, Josh. "The 2020 Presidential Primary Calendar". Frontloading HQ. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
↑ 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.
1 2 3 "Alaska Democratic Delegation 2020". The Green Papers. June 10, 2019. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
↑ "Democratic Timing Penalties and Bonuses". The Green Papers. November 24, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
↑ "The Math Behind the Democratic Delegate Allocation - 2020". The Green Papers. November 24, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
1 2 "Official SAMPLE Ballot Alaska Democratic Party" (PDF). Alaska Democratic Party. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
↑ "2020 Delegate Selection/Party-Run Primary". Alaska Democratic Party. Archived from the original on March 2, 2020. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
↑ "Delegate Tracker". interactives.ap.org. Associated Press. Retrieved April 30, 2020.

External links

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[11] Votes which had all its 5 ranked vote-choices allocated towards eliminated candidates who did not reach the threshold of 15%.

[1] Kate Sullivan. "Rhode Island postpones primaries and Alaska Democrats cancel in-person voting due to coronavirus". CNN. Retrieved April 10, 2020.

[results-2] 1 2 3 "RANK-CHOICE VOTING DETAILS" (PDF). Alaska Democratic Party. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 13, 2020. Retrieved April 11, 2020.

[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.

[GP-5] 1 2 3 "Alaska Democratic Delegation 2020". The Green Papers. June 10, 2019. Retrieved June 23, 2019.

[6] "Democratic Timing Penalties and Bonuses". The Green Papers. November 24, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2022.

[7] "The Math Behind the Democratic Delegate Allocation - 2020". The Green Papers. November 24, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2022.

[ballot-8] 1 2 "Official SAMPLE Ballot Alaska Democratic Party" (PDF). Alaska Democratic Party. Retrieved March 4, 2020.

[9] "2020 Delegate Selection/Party-Run Primary". Alaska Democratic Party. Archived from the original on March 2, 2020. Retrieved April 11, 2020.

[10] "Delegate Tracker". interactives.ap.org. Associated Press. Retrieved April 30, 2020.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[lower-alpha 1]