CONTACT: Jeannette Lee, Sightline Institute, jeannette@sightline.org
ANCHORAGE, AK – Alaska voters narrowly chose to keep their current elections system of nonpartisan open primaries and ranked choice general elections. A ballot initiative to roll back the system failed by a margin of 664 votes.
Nonpartisan think tank Sightline Institute researched the effects of the methods on Alaska’s electorate and lawmakers in Juneau in the four years since Alaska voters originally approved the changes.
Sightline’s analysis found that, compared with the old system of closed partisan primaries and plurality “winner take all” contests, the current system in Alaska has seen more competitive and less partisan primary elections and given more room for lawmakers to govern in less polarized ways. Most notably, the electoral methods in place deliver more representation for independents and moderate Republicans.
Support from prominent Republicans including US Senator Lisa Murkowski, state Senator Cathy Giessel, and former state Representative Jesse Sumner ensured the system had enough cross-partisan appeal for Alaskans across the political spectrum to retain it.
Other benefits of the state’s system of ranked choice voting and open primaries include:
- No more spoiled elections. Voters in the general election don’t worry about “wasting” their vote on a spoiler candidate. That is, they don’t have to vote for a candidate they’re not excited about just to keep their least-favorite candidate from winning.
- Alaska’s primary system is in the hands of the voters. Political parties used to make the rules for primary elections, even though the state footed the bill. Now laws approved by voters govern the primaries.
- The current system leveled the playing field for independent candidates. Independents can now run for office under the same rules as candidates who belong to a political party rather than having to fulfill extra requirements to get on the ballot.
- Voters can choose values over party. More than half of voters in the 2022 midterm primaries split their tickets between candidates from across the political spectrum.
- Candidates popular with general election voters no longer face the prospect of “getting primaried”—i.e., losing in the primary to candidates who appeal to the smaller, often less representative pool of primary voters.
- Majority winners are more likely. Ranked choice general elections greatly reduce the chance that candidates win elections without support from a majority of voters, not just more voters than any other candidate.
For Alaskans, defeating Ballot Measure 2 means defending a continued equal voice for all residents of the state, including independents.
“Voters’ affirmation of the Alaska system sustains the movement toward a politics focused more on governing than on grandstanding,” said Sightline Alaska research director Jeannette Lee. “It sets an example for Americans in other places eager to ditch division and rancor for teamwork and true choice in their politics.”
Per Sightline’s free use policy, all research, graphics, and other resources are available to republish.
Jeannette Lee is available for comment on the findings.
Related:
- What’s different in Alaska since election laws changed
- Despite candidate dropouts, Alaska elections are becoming more competitive
- Open Primaries and Ranked Choice Voting Strengthened Moderate Republicans in Alaska’s Legislature
- Voter Participation Jumped When Alaska Opened Its Primaries
- Mirroring the Nation, Voter Turnout Dropped in Alaska’s 2022 Election
###
Jeannette Lee is Sightline Institute’s Alaska Research Director, where she focuses on democracy and housing issues. She is based in Anchorage. Find her latest research here.
Sightline Institute is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank providing leading original analysis of democracy, forests, energy, and housing policy in the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, British Columbia, and beyond.
