Alaska decides to keep ranked-choice voting and rejects its repeal for second time
Both President Donald Trump and many Republicans in the state had called for a vote to repeal this electoral system.
Alaska decided to maintain the ranked-choice voting in the state. More than 10 days after the Nov. 3 election, it was projected that voters in the state had rejected Measure 2, which sought to return to the previous voting system.
Measure 2 was a citizen-driven initiative that made it to the ballot after its proponents gathered the necessary signatures. In Alaska, these votes are called ballot measures, while in other states, such as California, they are known as propositions. The initiative also sought to repeal the rules requiring the disclosure of the source of political donations exceeding $2,000.
According to the AP tally, with 95% of the estimated votes counted, the "no" vote received 53.5% compared to 46.5% for "yes." Both President Donald Trump and many Republicans in the state had called for a "yes" vote, including Governor Mike Dunleavy and Congressman Nick Begich III. Even Elon Musk donated money to support the "no" campaign.
Ranked-choice voting in Alaska
The current system was created precisely by a citizens' initiative approved in 2020 and began to be used starting with the 2022 election. Alaska was the second state to adopt it, after Maine. Until then, each party selected its candidate in its own primary, and in the general election, voters chose a single option, as in almost all other states in the country. The candidate with the most votes won, even if they did not secure a majority.
Since then, its opponents have tried to repeal it twice. In 2024, the repeal failed by a margin of just 743 votes. Following that defeat, its proponents collected more than 34,000 signatures to bring the proposal back to the ballot this year—again without success.
How does ranked-choice voting work?
The primary uses an open system in which all candidates, regardless of party, compete on the same ballot. The four candidates with the most votes advance to the general election; it is even possible for all of them to be from the same party.
In the general election, voters can mark a single name or select more than one and rank them in order of preference. For example, they mark a first choice, a second and a third. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the first-choice votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and their votes are transferred to each voter's second choice, and so on until someone exceeds 50%.
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