The Alaska Federation of Natives wrapped up its annual convention in Anchorage this weekend, including approving a slate of resolutions outlining the priorities of the state’s largest Alaska Native organization on everything from subsistence rights and economic policy to health, education and federal tribal policy.
That included a resolution supporting Alaska’s open primary and ranked-choice voting system against a far-right campaign seeking to repeal it. Alaska’s election system was approved by voters in 2020 and was used in the 2022 special and regular elections, where U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola made history as the first Alaska Native person elected to Congress.
Now, conservatives with ties to Republican candidates Sarah Palin, who finished second against Peltola, and Kelly Tshibaka, who finished second to U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, are pushing to repeal it through their voter initiative. They’re currently in the signature-gathering stage of the initiative process and have frequently boasted about how they’re nearing the 26,705 signatures needed to get it on the 2024 ballot.
Supporters of the system argue the open primary system makes it possible for more centrist, less divisive candidates to succeed than the past system, where winners were generally determined in partisan semi-closed primaries. U.S. Rep. Peltola, whose 2022 campaigns focused on broad, bipartisan appeal, is commonly held up as an example of how the system can usher in change.
The resolution approved by AFN also notes the system creates more opportunities for Alaska Natives in politics.
“The open primary and ranked-choice voting system provides more opportunities for Alaska Natives to run for public office and get elected,” notes the resolution. “Current law allows for more freedom, more choice, more influence, and greater participation among Alaskans, decentralizing power and empowering voters.”
During the resolution process on Saturday, Matthew Nicolai spoke in favor of the resolution and against the efforts of the conservative initiative backers, who he said were trying to collect signatures outside the convention under the banner of “honest elections” when it was really about making elections less friendly for moderate centrists like Peltola.
“This resolution is in dire need of support of our Native people statewide,” he said. “It’s very important our Native people stand up and show up to the elections to fight this (initiative) that they’re presenting, saying it’s honest and fair. It’s not.”
The resolution was approved unanimously with cheers from the AFN audience.
Why it matters
The impact of open primaries and ranked-choice elections on Alaska’s political landscape was apparent even in its first elections. Peltola’s victory is the banner headline on those changes, but the system saw changes in several down-ballot races.
Several districts that have traditionally been progressive or conservative legislative strongholds saw multiple candidates from the same party run for office, giving voters more options in the type of representation in the Alaska Legislature. Almost across the board, general election voters opted for more moderate, centrist candidates. That saw new energy in the Alaska Legislature around education funding, child care and labor rights.
Matt Acuña Buxton is a long-time political reporter who has written for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and The Midnight Sun political blog. He also authors the daily politics newsletter, The Alaska Memo, and can frequently be found live-tweeting public meetings on Twitter.
