2008 Alaska Election Coverage

The final tally is in -- and this time state Rep. Mike Kelly really is one vote ahead of his rival.

Kelly, a Fairbanks Republican, had an unofficial total of 5,018 votes after overseas ballots for House District 7 were counted Tuesday, according to elections division director Gail Fenumiai.

Democratic challenger Karl Kassel had 5,017 votes.

"One vote up. It's kind of boring, isn't it?" quipped Kelly, who is seeking his third term. "Hopefully this boring vote will stick."

Kassel actually received more votes than Kelly -- 22 to his 19 -- in the 49 overseas ballots cast for the district.

Officials, however, said Election Day votes were miscounted in two of the district's precincts. The discrepancy was later discovered and corrected by a state ballot review board that compared the number of ballots cast with the number of signatures on the precinct registers, Fenumiai said.

In one precinct, seven ballots were counted twice and have since been removed. In the other, two ballots were not counted and have since been added, Fenumiai said.

As a result of the review, she said, Kassel was actually four votes behind Kelly before the overseas ballots were figured in, not the one-vote difference previously reported.

"Discrepancies with the number of signatures appearing on the precinct register and the number of ballots cast are caused by jammed ballots on Election Day," Fenumiai said. "If a ballot becomes jammed in the optical scan, a message appears indicating if the ballot was counted or not counted."

Kassel said he definitely will ask for a recount. The state pays for the process if the vote difference is within a half-percent.

"I don't think there's any situation more appropriate to ask for a recount than when there is a one-vote spread, particularly when there's been as much confusion over the vote count," Kassel said. "I'm very confused."

Altogether, some 2,600 overseas ballots from Alaska's general election were being counted by hand.

Fenumiai said no other races are considered up for grabs.

The general election is expected to be certified in early December. A recount request must be made within five days after certification.

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