In November, Alaskans will vote on whether to keep or get rid of our open primary, ranked choice voting elections. But some people are scared of the open primary and are doing everything they can to avoid talking about it.
Alaskans are rightly proud of our independence in all things. Whether it’s personal health care, marijuana, or the PFD, Alaskans have consistently voted for the ability to make our own decisions, rather than let others decide for us. Alaska has a proud history of electing leaders that don’t conform to the expectations of D.C. elites and national political party bosses. Two-thirds of Alaska voters are not registered with a major party, a higher proportion of independent voters than any other state in the country.
Four years ago, Alaskans decided to adopt a system of open primaries that reflects our culture of independence and self-reliance. The open primary simplifies the election down to a single ballot and allows Alaskans to vote for whoever they like best, regardless of party.
The open primary also shifts competition to the general election, where many more Alaskans vote and can make their voices heard. No longer can political party bosses control who can vote in their taxpayer-funded primary. No longer can tiny percentages of the most extreme and most partisan voters dictate our general election outcomes.
Unfortunately for the leaders of America’s dysfunctional political parties and for those voters at the far ends of the partisan spectrum, open primaries are overwhelmingly popular in Alaska. Polling has consistently shown that large majorities of Alaskans support open primaries and oppose closed, partisan primaries, especially when the state is footing the bill.
That’s why you will only hear the supporters of Ballot Measure 2 talk about ranked-choice voting, never the open primary. It’s too popular.
As one partisan commentator recently wrote in a right-wing blog funded by the Republican Party:
“In a closed primary, only registered Republicans would have a say in choosing their candidate, ensuring that the nominee aligns closely with the party’s ideology. Open primaries, on the other hand, can lead to the nomination of candidates who appeal to a broader, less ideologically consistent electorate, potentially weakening the party… In a state like Alaska, where the electorate is diverse and includes a significant number of non-partisan voters, RCV could lead to outcomes that… undermine the influence of the conservative base.”
This is a political party elite saying the quiet part out loud. Open primaries encourage candidates to appeal to a broader group of voters, make it harder for political parties to police our leaders, and empower Alaska voters at the expense of the extremes. How scary is that?
By contrast, ranked-choice voting simply mitigates the spoiler effect that can happen when more candidates run. It’s like the secondary medication you take to curb your hair loss from chemotherapy. The open primary is what actually has taken hold of American politics.
Of the small group of races that changed through ranked-choice tabulations in 2022, the majority were won by Republicans who otherwise would have lost due to the spoiler effect. Instead, these conservatives won and Republicans took back control of the State House for the first time in 8 years.
The biggest irony here is that open primaries and ranked-choice voting aren’t bad for conservatives, nor are they bad for progressives. Instead, they (and specifically the open primary) are bad for fringe voters and extremists. Open primaries are also bad for the people that control the political parties and who have more power under a closed partisan primary.
Ballot Measure 2 will decide the future of open primaries in Alaska, the system that allows us to choose whichever candidates we like best in every election, regardless of party. The politicians supporting the Yes campaign want to pick their voters. That’s not how our system works. Today, thanks to the open primary, we the people get to pick our politicians. A Yes vote on Ballot Measure 2 would throw that right away.
Don’t let political party bosses trick us into limiting our own freedom. When people tell you Measure 2 is about ranked-choice voting being too complicated for regular Alaskans to understand, hold them accountable and make them admit what this is really about. And do us all a favor by voting No on 2.
