Tag: Alaska

AK

  • Heeding ranked choice voting, candidates refine their strategies in Alaska governor’s race

    | Iris Samuels | Anchorage Daily News |

    Dave Bronson is calling on his supporters to rank all Republicans in the race, even after Bernadette Wilson — the top GOP vote-getter in the primary — asked her supporters not to.

    “If not, rank us second”

    With the November ballot set in the governor’s race, candidates are grappling with the reality of the state’s ranked choice voting system — which rewards moderation and punishes extreme partisanship — even as the Republicans in the field are calling for the system to be abolished.

    Both Taylor and Bronson, the former Anchorage mayor, are asking their supporters to rank all three Republicans in the race, even as Wilson, owner of a garbage disposal company and a former talk radio host, is calling on her supporters not to rank the other Republicans on the ballot.

    “We’d love to have you as our first vote. If not, rank us second,” Taylor told the audience.

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  • The 2026 Ballot Could Redefine Voter Access for Alaska Independents

    | Shawn Griffiths; Independent Voter News | The Fulcrum |

    Specifically the consequences of Ballot Measure 2, which would give parties the ability to shut out 60% of Alaska voters registered as independents. This is what attorney Scott Kendall argued before the Alaska Supreme Court last week.

    “A meaningful vote”

    Ballot Measure 2 would repeal Alaska’s nonpartisan Top Four primary, eliminate ranked choice voting in general elections, and repeal campaign finance disclosure provisions approved by voters in 2020.

    This is freedom that Ballot Measure 2 would strip away by replacing that system with closed party primaries, which force voters to pick a party to get a meaningful vote in publicly funded elections and restrict their choices to candidates of that party.

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  • Opinion: I’m voting to retain ranked choice voting and you should, too

    | Marc Swanson | Anchorage Daily News |

    Sixty-three percent of Alaskans are not registered as Republicans or Democrats. We’re independent. It is ingrained in our lifestyle and values. Yet in a conventional primary, we end up with two candidates, one from each party, crammed down our throats. Frankly, sometimes neither one is particularly palatable. But what choice do we have?

    “Power to the people”

    Bottom line: Ranked choice voting gives power to the people while taking it away from the political party establishments. It tones down rhetoric since appealing only to the base is less likely to provide the 50.1% necessary to win. And it puts responsibility on each of us to understand each candidate rather than choosing the flavor we’re supposed to eat.

    Additionally, Ballot Measure 2 concerns more than ranked choice voting. Its official summary says it would also eliminate the open primary and repeal campaign-finance disclosure provisions adopted in 2020.

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  • Beth Fukumoto: Who Doesn’t Like Ranked Choice Voting? Incumbents

    | Patti Epler | Honolulu Civil Beat |

    Ranked choice voting has only one real enemy in American politics, and it isn’t a political party. It’s incumbency.

    Ranked choice voting, which will be on Honolulu residents’ ballots in November, is one of the fastest growing voting reforms in the country. Seventeen cities, counties and states now use some version of ranked-choice voting, which advocates say broadens who can actually run and win. That’s precisely why the reform has gained powerful enemies.

    “More civil campaign culture”

    Honolulu Question 5, which will appear on Oʻahu ballots in November, is our best opportunity to implement a broadly applicable ranked choice voting system that could increase competition, build a more civil campaign culture and engage more voters.

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  • Irvine Voters to Decide on Upgrading Elections for Ranked Choice Voting

    | Michaela Gonzalez Montaner | Voter Choice Irvine |

    IRVINE, CA — This November, Irvine voters will have the opportunity to improve their local elections and strengthen representative democracy by voting YES on Measure D, a ballot measure to adopt ranked choice voting (RCV) for future mayoral and city council races.

    “Voters can vote their conscience every time”

    “Ranked choice voting means voters can vote their conscience every time without fear of wasting their vote,” said Branda Lin, the Director of Voter Choice Irvine. "In Irvine, spoiler candidates and vote splitting routinely result in candidates winning with only a third of the vote. In ranked choice voting elections, this threat is neutralized and your vote is never wasted.”

    This spring, 100+ residents successfully petitioned Irvine City Council to put the issue on the ballot in November. In just a month, the effort has been endorsed by dozens of elected officials, organizations and Irvine community leaders. Among the endorsers are the Democrats of Greater Irvine and California Libertarian Party.

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  • Breaking Down Ranked Choice Voting in the 2026 Wisconsin Primary

    | Larry Sandler | Milwaukee Magazine |

    Crowley edged Hong by half a percentage point in the crowded and chaotic Aug. 11 primary, in which four of seven candidates dropped out and Crowley jumped back in, all after ballots were printed and absentee voting was under way. The race’s wild trajectory left some voters wondering how the campaign might have played out in a ranked-choice voting system.

    Under the current system, you only get one vote. And in this state, if you cast an absentee ballot for a candidate who drops out, you can’t change your vote to someone who is still in the race.

    “68,000 votes that could have gone to someone whose candidacy was still alive”

    RCV advocates at Fair Vote call those “zombie votes.” Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes and former state development chief Missy Hughes weren’t among the walking dead themselves, but their names remained undead on the Democratic primary ballot after they stopped running. Together they received more than 68,000 votes that could have gone to someone whose candidacy was still alive, in a race decided by less than 3,800 votes. With RCV, their supporters’ second or third choices could have counted toward the outcome. 

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  • America’s Democracy Is Cracking. The Revolution to Rebuild It Has Already Begun.

    | Rob Richie | IVN |

    Americans’ celebration of 250 years of independence invites reflection on the Declaration of Independence and its values of equality, liberty, and democratic renewal. Those values are a beacon to guide where our nation must go to live up to its promise.

    “Fairer outcomes for voters”

    Ranked choice voting (RCV) has moved from an exciting idea to deciding presidential elections in Alaska, Maine and Washington, D.C. and electing governors, Members of Congress, and leaders of major cities. RCV clearly provides fairer outcomes for voters, who in exit surveys show consistent support. Allowing voters to rank candidates in order of choice upholding majority rule by eliminating the “spoiler” effect, and enabling meaningful consideration of independents and minor parties.

    Expect at least three cities to add to the streak of more than 30 straight wins for RCV on city ballots, and ongoing proof of concept in practice. With voters under 50 overwhelmingly in support of RCV, we could see Congress act to remove administrative barriers to RCV in 2029, unlocking progress toward general reimagining voting as ranking.

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