Tag: Alaska

AK

  • Ranked choice voting in Honolulu, part 1: Analysis of a possible game change

    | Peter S Adler; PhD | Aloha State Daily |

    At the moment, ranked choice voting appears to have been used or has been approved for upcoming public elections in 49 U.S. jurisdictions, including 36 cities, three counties, and Maine and Alaska statewide. Several jurisdictions employ ranked choice voting ballots for military and overseas voters. Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes already requires ranked choice voting for federal elections held outside regularly scheduled primary or general election dates, and for special elections to fill vacant county council seats.

    “An important conceptual choice”

    Interestingly, ranked choice voting also appears outside government elections: About 100 American colleges and universities use it in some student-government elections. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences uses ranked ballots to determine most Oscar nominees; it also uses ranked-choice tabulation to select the Best Picture winner. Ranked, point-based ballots also select the Heisman Trophy winner as well as that of Major League Baseball’s Cy Young Award.

    Question 5 will offer an important conceptual choice. If adopted, the proposal directs the city clerk to prepare rules and implement a public education program which clearly addresses important operational nuances, such as ballot design, recounts, certification procedures, and treatment of skipped rankings, ties, and exhausted ballots. The public should be able to see and comment on those rules before implementation, as Honolulu’s charter provides that public-facing administrative rules generally require public notice, a public hearing, and mayoral approval.

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  • League of Women Voters urges ‘no’ on Ballot Measure 2

    | Marianne Mills and Sarah Moore, LWV Alaska | Wrangell Sentinel |

    We are in strong support of Alaska’s current election law, which includes a nonpartisan open primary, dark-money disclosure rules and ranked-choice voting. This law was approved by voters in 2020 and reaffirmed by the electorate in 2024. The league supports Alaska’s election process because we view it as a more inclusive, representative and functional democratic system than party-controlled elections.

    “Broader swath of constituents”

    Ranked-choice voting provides the voter with the choice of ranking candidates in order of preference — or not ranking, if that is their preference. The system ultimately ensures broader support for the winning candidate.

    Alaska’s election system increases representation and reduces polarization. Candidates and elected officials work to communicate with a broader swath of constituents as opposed to only those with a particular political affiliation. This reduced polarization greatly impacts how candidates work with their peers once elected.

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  • Ranked-choice repeal effort lies to voters

    | Paul Robbins Jr | Wrangell Sentinel |

    The repeal of ranked-choice voting and open primaries is a cover for what the dishonest originators of the ballot measure are trying to get rid of: The laws keeping dark money out of Alaska politics.

    “Dark money shouldn’t be in Alaska politics”

    Alaska currently has some of the strongest campaign finance disclosure laws in the nation, ensuring political organizations and candidates reveal the true sources of any contributions greater than $2,000. Our laws also make sure political ads paid for by entities outside of Alaska include a statement revealing the majority contributor.

    The vast majority of Alaskans agree that dark money shouldn’t be in Alaska politics. We should know who’s funding our politics and our politicians. Repealing these laws would be wildly unpopular. And that’s why the Yes on 2 website and ads contain no mentions of the laws this measure repeals.

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  • When should we expect results in Alaska’s ranked choice voting elections?

    | Will Mantell, Rachel Hutchinson | FairVote |

    Be prepared to wait up to 15 days for results in any close Alaska elections, regardless of whether they use ranked choice voting (RCV). Alaska has a long history of an extended vote-counting period, preceding its adoption of RCV. The state accepts absentee ballots up to 15 days after the election – many of which arrive on the later end due to the size of the state, with a large number of voters living in areas accessible only by boat and plane. In addition, state law dictates that absentee ballots cannot be scanned before election night; this year, Governor Mike Dunleavy vetoed a bipartisan bill that would have changed this and sped up processing.

    “RCV tabulations take about one minute per race”

    As noted above, ranked choice voting is not responsible for delayed election results in Alaska. However, the Alaska Division of Elections officially reports only first-choice results during the 15-day absentee ballot window, and chooses to conduct its RCV tally once every ballot is received. The actual RCV tabulations take about one minute per race, and have been shared on livestreams in both 2022 and 2024.

    Even with this timeline, ranked choice voting races that are not close can be called well before the 15-day mark – whether a candidate wins a majority of first choices, or if the data overwhelmingly suggests the first-choice leader will win an RCV tally.

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  • Opinion: Both sides agree on manipulation as the best strategy for ranked choice elections

    | Kevin Sweeney | Anchorage Daily News |

    While Alaska voters have embraced open primaries and the choices they present, they have not fully been given a chance to see how RCV can work in general elections. That’s because even though voters supported the new system by initiative in 2020 and reaffirmed support for it in 2024, opponents of RCV never accepted it and have been successful in sabotaging it.

    “Give RCV a chance”

    I had hoped Alaskans could give RCV a chance in 2026. The governor’s race could have been a dynamic RCV election with very clear political lines, solutions and ideas being promoted by the four finalists. Sadly, instead of strategizing how to effectively run a ranked-choice campaign, candidates have thus far spent their time and resources manipulating it.

    Voters in November will again choose whether to keep the current system or return to partisan primaries and a general election where the winner is whoever receives the most votes — often without a majority. I would caution people across the political spectrum to think twice before taking that step.

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  • Editorial: One ballot question, three consequential choices

    | Editorial Board | Anchorage Daily News |

    On Nov. 3, Alaskans will decide whether to repeal the whole package of election reforms that voters approved in 2020: the open primary, ranked choice general elections and the campaign finance disclosure rules that show who is paying to sway the vote. A yes vote throws out all three. There’s no voting à la carte here; it’s all or nothing.

    “Keep the sunlight streaming in”

    This isn’t a vote on whether Alaskans like numbering candidates one through four. Voting no on Ballot Measure 2 empowers Alaskans by giving them the choice to pick from the full field of candidates and by keeping strong tools for seeing who’s paying for the litany of ads we suffer.

    Keep our elections fair, honest and open, and keep the sunlight streaming in. Vote no on Ballot Measure 2.

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  • Voters in three cities will decide on ballot measures to implement ranked-choice voting in local elections on Nov. 3

    | Lara Bonatesta | Ballotpedia |

    On Nov. 3, voters in Irvine, California, Honolulu, Hawaii, and Longmont, Colorado, will decide on ballot measures that would require ranked-choice voting (RCV) in mayoral and city council elections. The measure in Honolulu would also require RCV to elect the city’s prosecuting attorney.

    “Six localities are scheduled to begin using RCV in 2027”

    Currently, three states use RCV statewide. Alaska and Maine use RCV in some federal and statewide elections, while Hawaii uses it for certain statewide elections. An additional five states have statutes authorizing the use of RCV for local elections.

    Forty-one localities in 14 states, as well as Washington, D.C., use or are scheduled to use RCV. Two of those localities, Washington, D.C. and Multnomah County, Oregon, began or will begin using RCV this year. An additional six localities are scheduled to begin using RCV in 2027.

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  • 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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