newsminer.com

By law, all the ballots from the general election have to be counted by next Wednesday.

In Fairbanks, the Division of Elections says it will count "all remaining questioned ballots and possibly some of the remaining absentee ballots" on Friday, starting at 11 a.m.

Absentee ballots that do not get counted Friday, will be counted Monday.

Statewide, there are 25,789 absentee and early ballots to be counted and 14,932 questioned ballots, the state says.

"This number could still increase slightly because ballots mailed on Election Day are accepted through Friday domestically and Wednesday, November 19 overseas," Bethany Lesser of the Alaska Democratic Party said.

"We are cautiously optimistic about the outcome of the election," she said in a prepared statement, referring to Mark Begich taking a lead over Sen. Ted Stevens in he U.S. Senate race.

If the final results are within one-half of one percentage point, which is likely, a candidate can request a recount at state expense.