CONTACT: Jeannette Lee, Sightline Institute, jeannette@sightline.org
ANCHORAGE, AK – This year, Alaska voters for the second time are voting using nonpartisan open primaries and ranked choice general elections.
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 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.
- The current system eliminates spoiled elections. Voters in the general election no longer 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Now, politicians can work across the aisle to get more done for Alaskans. Lawmakers have more freedom to work with colleagues of different political backgrounds on practical policy solutions without fear of electoral backlash by more extreme factions of their party.
- Majority winners are now more likely. Ranked choice general elections ensure winners have the support of a majority of voters, not just more voters than any other candidate.
“Although it will take time to more fully understand how open primaries and ranked choice voting affect campaigns, voter turnout, and legislator behavior,” said Sightline Alaska research director Jeannette Lee, “there are promising signs that our current system offers Alaskans more choice and less polarization.”
Jeannette Lee is available for comment on Sightline’s findings.
Related:
- Despite candidate dropouts, Alaska elections are becoming more competitive | A dozen candidates removed themselves from 2024’s general election, but voters still have plenty to choose from.
- Open Primaries and Ranked Choice Voting Strengthened Moderate Republicans in Alaska’s Legislature | Fewer hardliners won office, leading to an overwhelmingly bipartisan Senate majority, a hard-fought win on education funding, and the ability to neutralize culture warriors.
- Voter Participation Jumped When Alaska Opened Its Primaries | 2022 turnout for every candidate contest reached a decade high.
- Mirroring the Nation, Voter Turnout Dropped in Alaska’s 2022 Election | How a democracy data analyst assesses changes in voter turnout.
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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.
