Alaska Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom announced on Dec. 31 that the ballot initiative petition to repeal Alaska’s controversial ranked-choice voting system has been approved.
The initiative seeks to repeal Alaska’s nonpartisan top-four primary election and ranked-choice general election system and restore party primaries and single-choice general elections, along with other election processes and campaign finance rules.
After a thorough review, the Division of Elections confirmed that 42,837 qualified signatures were verified across 40 house districts, exceeding the required minimum of 34,098 signatures across 30 house districts.
With proper filing now complete, the initiative will appear as a proposition on the November 3, 2026, general election ballot.
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“The initiative process is a vital part of Alaska’s democratic system, enabling citizens to propose and vote on laws directly,” Dahlstrom noted. “Proper filing confirms the sponsors’ compliance with all legal requirements, and the measure will now move forward to the ballot for voters to decide.”
Narrowly approved by voters in 2020, ranked-choice voting and jungle primaries have been a divisive and controversial issue in Alaska politics with conservative critics claiming that it benefits Democrats and political leftists.
In 2024, voters nearly overturned the ranked-choice system, losing by only 800 votes – 160,861 to 160,124, while being massively outspent by opponents who were flush with outside money.
28 Comments
We’ll see how it goes this time.
The outside money flooded the villages and the mail in ballots, yet again, turned the tide at the very end. l
Overwhelm and out voted the narrative this time folks!
Let’s get this one done ONCE and FOR ALL.
If outside contributions were banned, RCV would never have had the slightest chance of passing in the first place. Seventeen states so far have banned this ridiculous leftist smoke screen “voting system” (cheating system). It would be banned here, too if so many Alaska RINOs weren’t owned by those pouring in the outside money.
If Lisa Murkowski hadn’t have cheated, by getting a Judge to misinterpret our election rules, we wouldn’t have Rank Choice Voting either.
True story.
100%
Ranked Choice Voting is here to stay. Let’s stop wasting time, money and effort.
Sure hope you’re not here to stay, because you’re not from here.
Yay for ranked choice voting and open primaries. Stop trying to to be a majority, Republicans.
If your an Alaskan, you are a Republican, and therefore the majority!
I am praying we can get rid of it this go round. It is stunning to me anyone would vote to keep it and it is hard to not suspect election fraud.
Once again, we’re going to pretend that our “elections” are not completely corrupt and somehow, mail-in and machines are perfectly legitimate. Seriously, we are a stupid people.
If the GOP maintains their majority in the House of Representatives after the midterms, will you consider it “legitimate?”
Not at all. “Party” has nothing to do with it – and in case you haven’t noticed, there is no difference between the people chosen to “represent” us.
Mamdani logic does not work in Alaska, take a hike leftists.
Amen
Check out the analysis that Elon just re-posted and see where Alaska hits and then ask yourself how you can possibly believe that our “elections” are real. “States with no effective voter ID requirement average nearly 8x more welfare benefits to illegal immigrants compared to states requiring voter ID verification. They are importing and paying illegals for votes.” https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2007076187760366005?s=61
While you’re at it, ask yourself WTF we have an immigrant employment service in this state with one of the highest unemployment rates of American born residents. “ Office Of Citizenship Assistance – “Building Pathways to Success for New Alaskans.”
https://oca.alaska.gov/
Here’s a story idea Joel: investigate all the daycare and other government “services” in Alaska – I bet they are worse than what they are finding in Minnesota.
Actually, ranked choice voting reveals the candidate with the most support across the entire electorate, not just the most passionate base. Once there’s more than two candidates in a typical “most votes wins” election, it’s very easy for the “winner” to have a weak plurality of support. It’s entirely possible that the winning candidate only commands 38% of the vote when a majority of the electorate would have preferred someone else. Ranked choice voting allows the will of the majority to emerge. It also reduces the incentive to go “scorched earth” on an opponent. Elections in Maine and New York City have already been shown to be more positive and civil once they shifted to ranked choice voting. Of course, “civility” is a dirty word in MAGA-world.
“Once there’s more than two candidates in a typical “most votes wins” election, it’s very easy for the “winner” to have a weak plurality of support.” But they still have the majority of those votes, regardless if it’s 38%. The will of the majority of the voters was met. RCV forces “choice” on people. This system is too easy to confuse people-I refer you to the RCV directions on the State website.
MAGA people are the most civil people you would ever meet, why? Because most believe in GOD, family, country. A concept most of the left despises.
I’ll have what Paul Hart’s drinking…..or maybe smoking. Whatever it is, it definitely puts you into a fantasy world!
RCV is cheating end of story.
100%
Agreed!
You just hated that Lisa and Mary won. It was the choice of rank and file Alaskans. Maybe Alaska is less Repubiican than you think
That’s where myopia gets you.
Your spot on about Lisa & Mary! If there are now less people here that have a brain and use common sense, it would explain why we can never nail down a budget the first time around.
Taken from 2 articles on RCV:
“On January 11, 2024, the Center for Election Confidence (CEC) issued a report titled “Minority Electorates and Ranked Choice Voting,” authored by Princeton political scientist Nolan McCarty.[1] The CEC report documented how ranked-choice voting (RCV) reduces minority voting influence due to disproportionate ballot exhaustion rates in minority voting precincts.”
“Beyond the Ballot: The Flawed Reality of Ranked Choice Voting
We should not be abandoning a straight-forward system that everyone understands in exchange for a new, convoluted one filled with complications. When new gimmicks are introduced, they only bring complications and more opportunities for error and fraud, leading voters to question the entire system. The potential for confusion extends beyond the voting process to the administration of elections and the counting and tabulation of the votes themselves. RCV can result in prolonged election outcomes, as seen in states like Alaska, where the final results for significant races were delayed for weeks. Such delays not only test the patience of the public but they also undermine trust in the electoral system, fueling speculation and discontent.The set of problems RCV creates cannot be overlooked: the potential for confusion, the risk of disenfranchising voters, and the likelihood of protracted election results are all significant drawbacks. Our system of elections needs to inspire confidence in the integrity of the process and the accuracy of the outcomes.”
Well said. It’s time to introduce legislation and put into law: Voter ID, in person voting (exception military Alaskans abroad), and when the voting closes, it’s closed, and security at the voting station to ensure no tampering. A chain of evidence procedure. These are minimal adjustments, and ensures to the best of our ability that we’ve made it a fair voting process.
For me, the worst part of rank choice voting is that the candidate with the most money (including the “dark money” from Outside Alaska groups) buys all the media time and leaves Alaskans no opportunity to get to know the other candidates. So, while RCV presents itself as open to anyone becoming a candidate, it really results in lots of people with unknown principles, philosophies, goals, etc. confusing voters. I don’t know who to vote for because I am forced to do all the research on each candidate, and I don’t have time or means to do that. It means, the rich candidate wins. And the rich candidate has been shown to be the one funded by political action groups from other states and non-government organizations (ngo) that want to swamp our state with their negative advertising and, usually, mis-information about the other candidate(s). It leads to a really unfair election. AND, the “traditional” system allowed for anyone to run as a candidate, if they could find enough supporters to get their name on the ballot —so the idea that RCV allows more people to run really means that the list of candidates can be “gamed” to confuse voters, not to give us a real choice.