Alaskans will be voting this November on Ballot Measure #2 – Repeal Ranked Choice voting and Open Primaries. Here’s why we don’t support this ballot measure:

RCV allows voters to rank candidates by preference, ensuring that the elected candidate has broader support. Here are some key advantages:

Ensures Majority Support: RCV ensures that the winning candidate has majority support, rather than just a plurality. This system helps prevent a candidate disliked by the majority from winning simply because the opposition is split among several other candidates.

Eliminates Spoilers: Voters can choose their preferred candidate without fear of “wasting” their vote or unintentionally helping elect their least favorite candidate. This mitigates the “spoiler effect” often seen in plurality voting systems.

Promotes Positive Campaigns: Candidates are incentivized to appeal to a broader audience, including the supporters of their opponents, leading to more civil and less negative campaigning.

Decreases Cost and Increases Participation: RCV can eliminate the need for costly runoff elections, which typically see lower voter turnout. It also tends to increase overall voter participation by providing a more meaningful way to express preferences.

Enables Broader Representation: In multi-winner elections, RCV helps ensure that minority groups and diverse communities can elect candidates of their choice, leading to more representative outcomes.

Advantages of Open Primaries

Open primaries, where voters are not required to be affiliated with a political party to vote in that party’s primary, offer several benefits:

Increases Voter Turnout: Open primaries allow all voters, regardless of party affiliation, to participate in the selection of candidates. This can lead to a broader spectrum of voter engagement and higher voter turnout.

Moderates Candidates: Because candidates must appeal to a broader electorate, open primaries can help moderate candidates who have wider appeal get nominated, rather than those who cater only to the base of their party.

Reduces Polarization: By encouraging candidates to appeal to a wider range of voters, open primaries can help reduce political polarization and promote more centrist policies.

Both ranked choice voting and open primaries are seen as reforms that can lead to a more inclusive, representative, and functional democratic process.

References and links to additional external information:

Ranked Choice Voting, explained – Harvard Law Today

Ranked Choice Voting – Campaign Legal Center

Ranked Choice Voting – Fair Vote

Ranked Choice Voting is Simple, Election Laws are not – Sightline Institute