By: James Brooks, Alaska Beacon Early in-person voting began Monday at 10 locations in the Railbelt, Juneau and Nome for Alaska’s Aug. 18 statewide primary election. As of July 31, just under 10,000 voters had requested absentee ballots for the election, and hundreds of absentee voters had already mailed in their votes, according to figures from the Alaska Division of Elections. What’s at stake? This election decides the four U.S. House, U.S. Senate and governor candidates who will be in the November general election. It also decides whether Alaska will limit the amount of money that political donors can give directly to candidates. Because the top four candidates for an office advance to the November general election — and because most of the 50 state legislative races have four or fewer candidates — the primary doesn’t mean as much for most legislative races individually. But because the difference between a Republican-led state House and Senate and a predominantly Democratic coalition-led state House and Senate may come down to a few votes, the handful of contested legislative elections may be important.2026 Voter Guide The candidates, the ballot measures, and the tools you need to cast your vote. Read More Watch Eagle River, where incumbent Republican