UPDATE: Alaska Has Begich 814 Ahead

At the DOE tonight, the end count for the day showed Begich 836 votes ahead. Check the DOE for updates.

"I've always said that this would be a close race. After watching the votes today, I remain cautiously optimistic. As I have said before, we ran an aggressive campaign, especially when it came to early voting and absentee. From what we're seeing, thousands of Alaskans, like me, did come out and vote early. I'm confident that Alaskans, like the rest of the country, want a new direction in Washington , and ultimately that will be reflected in the results."

-- Mark Begich

While Georgia has moved to a run off, Minnesota is knee deep in a recount. Alaska is still trying to get the votes counted. Save the jokes. No, they don't come in on dog sled.

Today a third of the remaining 30% of the votes are now being counted. The race has narrowed to a 814 vote margin, with Mayor Begich ahead. This has the Ted Steven's camp missing the 3533 vote margin they enjoyed this morning. Begich: 132,196 at 47.41% and Stevens:131,382 at 47.24%. There are still about 40,000 votes to count. The Alaska Independence Party Candidate Bob Bird is sitting with 4.12%.

Ethan Berkowitz has gained 2% in his race with Don Young. Should this trend continue, the race could tighten up more than has been reported. Berkowitz was polling consistently between 6 and 12 points ahead of Young. Current standing has Young at 50.66%, Berkowitz at 44.71, and the Alaskan Independence Candidate Don Wright at 4.39%.

Updating here as the numbers come in. I think both sides can say the Alaska Independence Party wins as "the spoiler."

Alaska is still reporting less votes than the 2004 election. The McCain/Palin ticket still holding at about 61% and Obama/Biden at 37%. No real change from election night 2008 or 2004.

Comments

[grateful4thedead]

I saw on Hardball this evening that the State of Alaska still has another 40,000 votes to count. This is incredible incompetence.

As I posted on Ms. Moore's previous column, I ask..."Don­'t you guys have a Governor up there who can take charge and lead on this matter?"

[Mysticalsister]

Shannyn, we're big fans of yours in our house. Thanks for the great reporting during this election. Keep up the great work, and the good news!

[lisakaz2]

Thanks for the update. I'm pulling for Begich 'cause I don't wanna hear any more about Palin as a senator.

[Infokronea]

Thank you for keeping an eye on this situation and letting the rest of us know what's going on. Otherwise, Stevens (read Palin) would definitely be relocating to DC as a US Senator. (Yikes!) Thanks for washing the lipstick off this particular pig!

[lookingAhead]

It's not over till it's over Bible Spice wants that seat. Hopefully their is enough people watching over this.

[krocklin]

OK. So we know there are descrepancies and anomalies about the Alaskan vote in a State where the Governor was found guilty of ethical breaches, a Senator was convicted on 7 felony counts, another Senator also is considered corrupt and there is a fairly popular Party that has advocated violence and favors secession, whose founder will killed in an illegal plastic explosives sale.
So what agency is empowered to do anything about it?
Or is just going to be like the Kerry election in 2004 where the loser takes all?

[Nomccain]

Looks like the Democrats might pick up seats in Minn, Ga. and Alaska. What a race!

[fiorastar]

Greg Palast, who has been investigating Republican vote suppression and election theft since 2000 (and who incidentally, as part of his deep level of investigative journalism, says the more recent Diebold/ES&S voting machine scandal is only a very small part of the whole scheme), has some numbers that make the vote count in Alaska seem very suspicious. Such as the ratio of supposed votes for McCain/Palin vs. Obama/Biden. "No real change from election night 2000 or 2004". That's an understate­ment--ther­e is no change at ALL!! These numbers are the exact margin of the supposed "count" of the last two stolen elections.

The idea that the voter turnout was lower overall than 2004 is also bogus. There were thousands of new registrations, primarily Democratic, by very energized new voters--yet for some reason NONE of them actually voted?

There were the biggest protest rallies ever in Alaska against Sarah Palin and the Republican ticket, and yet the ratio is exactly identical?

And it's taking over a week to count all the votes the first time--and to put Stevens even a little bit behind even though he was convicted on felony charges late in the campaign?

Very fishy--and I don't meant wild salmon!

[nordjak]

I suppose these absentee ballots won't count towards the election conspiracy theory because they support Begich?

[fiorastar]

Well, they would if there were ever any evidence that Democrats engaged in vote suppression or election theft activities. So far, over the past decade, all evidence--every speck--has favored the Republican candidate. Absentee ballots, by the way, are regularly not counted and do tend to be Democratic­--especial­ly in an election where MANY Democrats were watching closely to avoid the theft of yet another four years in the White House. The people who regularly make the decision that it is not necessary to count absentees are ALWAYS Republican election officials who tend to often have close ties directly with the campaigns they are supposedly impartially counting the votes for.

[kingmiller]

Umm... not sure if you guys are aware or not, but us down here in the "Lower 49?" think that something smells in Alaska. All this does for the state is to re-enforce the notion that people who live in Alaska are malcontents and reprobates who are "hidin' out". Ted Stevens is truly a poster boy, don't you see. Alaska, with Palin as Governor and Young and Stevens as the two most corrupt Senators in Washington makes you guys a bit ridiculous. So Alaskans, clean up your state and get serious, and we'll start treating you as more than just a bunch of yahoos!

[JBryan]

I wonder if Norm Colman is gonna call his buddy Ted to tell him he should concede?

[lookingAhead]

Good one, I was thinking the same thing.

[incaseofrain]

Um... *fewer* votes.

[wagthedog1001]

Someone from the "Real America" needs to go up there and monitor this. It's taking waaaay too long.

[afgail]

Send Jimmy Carter up to Alaska with a team of Diebold voter fraud experts and get to the bottom of the fiasco. Probably the early votes were not caught in the system and manipulated, where as by election day the machines had been hacked/rigged. Probably rigged a day or two the after the Sen. Stevens felony conviction was announced. That would explain the disparity in election day votes and early vote results. Another test is to compare Presidential and Congressional early voting percentages vs election day voting percentages .

[VikingQuest]

I like that guy, hope he wins.

He is also wants to drill in ANWR.

[WilliePilgrim]

In fairness, it should be pointed out that most candidates in Alaska, with few exceptions, recognize the state's relationship with its mineral wealth, oil in particular. For Begich or Berkowitz to say that they favor drilling ANWAR is not quite the same as Young and Stevens saying what seems like the same thing. Under the guidance of an enlightened effort sensitive to environmental issues and unintented consequences, the resource's extraction could be relatively benign. It's as if one is comparing an ax murders with brain surgery just because both procedures cut open the body.

[Pupadup4oBama]

wow, thanks for the analogy.

[Pupadup4oBama]

oh, and i'm not being sarcastic when i say that...:)

[tompoe]

Ms. Moore: We live in a democracy. Multiple candidates aren't "spoilers". They're candidates, supported by Americans.

[Shannyn Moore - Huffpost Blogger]

You may be interested to know the "spoilers" are part of the AIP. Alaska Independence Party...th­ey want Alaska to leave the union. Funny you would say they are "supported by Americans" -- they would hate that.

[CaptainStormfield]

Thats funny.

[Kenai]

That was hilarious. (And Blogworthy)
http://www.ieatgravel.com/?p=1775

[krocklin]

Why has the Media failed to DIRECTLY ask Palin about her involvement in the AIP?
Can a case be made that she has been pallin' aroung with Terroriststs???

[rahau]

If they voted for the candidate of the Alaskan Independence Party, they are not "real Americans.­" They are secessionists.

But as Seinfeld would say, "Not that there's anything wrong with that." I would support Alaskan Independence if it would guarantee that Sarah Palin would be forever unqualified to run for national office.

[Pupadup4oBama]

Its such a shame she is the governor of that most beautiful of lands.
I've never seen such beauty before....­from the glaciers to the open fields of purple irises.
It truly is a sight to behold.

[Mysticalsister]

Me too, but first she has to promise to take the brain damaged bible-thumping bigots who supported her -- with her when she goes.

ALL of them.