Ballot Measure 2 explained: ranked-choice voting in Alaska

During the general election, Alaskans will have the opportunity to vote on two ballot measures. Ballot Measure 1 would institute an oil tax, while Ballot Measure 2 would change the way Alaska’s elections are conducted. Ballot Measure 2, also known as the Better Elections Initiative, has three central components: it would replace Alaska’s primary system with a top-four primary, implement ranked-choice voting in general elections and would require greater transparency of campaign donors.

First, the measure would replace Alaska’s partisan primary system with an open top-four primary. A topfour primary is where all candidates appear on one ballot and the four candidates who receive the most votes advance to the general election ballot. The motivation for the topfour primary is to have a single ballot for primary elections. This way,

Alaskans, particularly the nearly 60 percent of undeclared and independent voters, would not be forced to choose between Republican and Democratic ballots. Instead, voters could select all of their preferred candidates regardless of party affiliation.

Another way Ballot Measure 2 would change elections is by implementing ranked choice voting in general elections. Primaries would not be ranked choice. Ranked choice voting is a process by which voters rank candidates from their preferred to least preferred. In order to win, a candidate must garner the majority of the vote. If no candidate receives over 50 percent of the vote, the candidate who received the fewest number one rankings is eliminated. The eliminated candidate’s first place rankings are then redistributed to the candidates still in the race who the voter ranked second. Ballots are tallied again to determine if there is a majority. If not, the process is repeated until eventually a winner is declared. Should the measure pass, Alaska would be the second state to utilize ranked choice voting.

Lastly, Ballot Measure 2 would require greater transparency of campaign donations. It seeks to eliminate dark money, meaning independent spending from groups that do not disclose their donors. Individuals and entities that donated over $2,000 in funds that came from donations, contributions, gifts and dues would need to disclose the original sources of that money within 24 hours. The initiative would also ban donations to gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial campaigns of over $1,000 from individuals and over $2,000 from entities annually. Moreover, any group that received more than 50 percent of its donations from donors outside of Alaska need to include this information in a disclaimer.

An analysis by the Sightline Institute details the implications of Ballot

Measure 2. Interestingly, one impact the initiative would have would be on who wins elections. According to the analysis, Alaska’s current primary system favors candidates with radical views; for example, during the 2020 state primary, many moderate incumbent Republican lawmakers were unseated by far-right leaning challengers. Ranked choice voting, on the other hand, benefits moderate candidates who are able to appeal to a broad voter base. Therefore, the process discourages extreme candidates on either side of the political aisle.

Ranked choice voting would also make elections more inclusive, providing candidates from platforms other than the larger Republican and Democratic parties a better chance at advancing in elections. Under the current system, voters may decide not to vote for a third-party candidate, even if this is their preferred choice, out of concern of diverting votes from candidates in a more established party. Again, ranked choice is particularly relevant because so many Alaskan voters are independent or undeclared.

Ballot Measure 2 poses a challenge to voters who typically side with their political party on ballot initiatives. Support for and opposition to the controversial Ballot Measure 2 have both been bipartisan. The campaign supporting Ballot Measure 2 is Alaskans for Better Elections; supporters include the Libertarian Party of Alaska and the League of Women Voters of Alaska. Proponents argue that the initiative will encourage bipartisanism and will allow voters to select their preferred candidate without concern of wasting their vote on a third-party candidate. Moreover, candidates will no longer be able to run negative campaigns and so, ideally, will spend more time laying out

positions and working toward solutions rather than attacking the opposition.

While the measure is bipartisan in both support and opposition, Republicans are mostly against the initiative. Supporters for Defend Alaska Elections, the group created against the measure, include the Republican Party of Alaska, the Republican State Leadership Committee and the conservative group Americans for Prosperity. Those against the measure claim that ranked choice voting is confusing, citing the fact that Ballot Measure 2 itself is 25-pages long and includes 74 sections. Opponents argue that ranked choice voting disadvantages voters who select only one candidate, because if their firstchoice candidate does not advance the ballot is no longer relevant. Moreover, in doing away with the partisan primary, the measure would undermine party affiliation and thereby candidates’ constitutional right to associate with a party. Not only this, but the winner is unlikely to be the candidate who received the most votes —a majority is extremely difficult to achieve in the first round— but instead the individual able to appeal to the greatest number of Alaskans. Or, as Defend Alaska Elections Chair Brett Huber put it, the candidate who “says the least and smiles the most.” The need to appeal to as many voters as possible could dissuade candidates from taking strong positions.

Like virtually any political measure, there are valid arguments both in favor and against the Better Elections Initiative. Considering that there is no consensus along party lines, Alaskans voters must make up their own minds about Ballot Measure 2. As the Sightline analysis concludes, the bottom line for Alaskans deciding how to vote on Ballot Measure 2 is to consider whether or not they are happy with the current election system in Alaska.