| Kevin Sweeney | Anchorage Daily News |
While Alaska voters have embraced open primaries and the choices they present, they have not fully been given a chance to see how RCV can work in general elections. That’s because even though voters supported the new system by initiative in 2020 and reaffirmed support for it in 2024, opponents of RCV never accepted it and have been successful in sabotaging it.
”Give RCV a chance
I had hoped Alaskans could give RCV a chance in 2026. The governor’s race could have been a dynamic RCV election with very clear political lines, solutions and ideas being promoted by the four finalists. Sadly, instead of strategizing how to effectively run a ranked-choice campaign, candidates have thus far spent their time and resources manipulating it.
Voters in November will again choose whether to keep the current system or return to partisan primaries and a general election where the winner is whoever receives the most votes — often without a majority. I would caution people across the political spectrum to think twice before taking that step.