Two Dan Sullivans Couldn’t Sour Alaska on Ranked-Choice Voting

Detailed summary

Alaska voters have again rejected an attempt to scrap ranked-choice voting after a bruising election that put two Dan Sullivans on the Senate ballot. The defeat of Ballot Measure…

Alaska voters have again rejected an attempt to scrap ranked-choice voting after a bruising election that put two Dan Sullivans on the Senate ballot.

The defeat of Ballot Measure 2 marks the second time in two years that Alaskans have voted to keep the system, despite complaints about confusing ballots and political gamesmanship.

Yet neither of this year’s biggest races may need a ranked-choice runoff. Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins won the governor’s race with a majority of first-choice votes, while Mary Peltola is nearing the same threshold in her Senate challenge against Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan.

Peltola remains below 50 percent as counting continues. If she finishes with more than half the first-choice votes, she will win without a ranked-choice runoff.

Unofficial results released by the Alaska Division of Elections on November 13 showed 53.52 percent voting against repeal and 46.48 percent supporting it, a lead of 18,655 votes.

Ballot Measure 2 would have restored party primaries and general elections in which voters choose just one candidate. It also sought to repeal campaign finance rules intended to identify the sources of political donations.

Its defeat leaves Alaska’s election rules intact after months of arguments over whether they give voters more freedom or invite candidates to manipulate the field.

Supporters say the system rewards politicians who reach beyond their party’s base. Critics argue it confuses voters and allows little-known candidates to advance with minimal support.

Kreiss-Tomkins cleared the majority needed to win the governor’s race outright, and Republican Bernadette Wilson conceded.

Opening of the article, excerpted from Newsweek. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.