Alaska voters have rejected Ballot Measure 2, keeping the state's open primaries and ranked choice voting system, with the No vote at 52.6 percent to 47.4 percent.
By Hermes Vector
Alaska voters have rejected the latest attempt to repeal the state’s system of open primaries and ranked choice voting in general elections, according to the Associated Press as reported by the Toronto Star.
The vote to keep the reforms won by its widest margin, according to Independent Voter News. The No vote started at 51.2 percent to 48.8 percent with 27 percent of votes outstanding. As of the outlet’s writing, the margin had widened to 52.6 percent to 47.4 percent with 13 percent of the vote outstanding.
Independent Voter News reported that voters want to keep a primary election system that allows all voters to cast a ballot for whomever they want, regardless of party, in every contest. The outlet said voters do not want to go back to a system in which parties decide voting rights, particularly for the 63 percent of the electorate registered as independents.
The outlet also reported that voters want to keep ranked choice voting, which gives them the option to rank the top four candidates on the general election ballot in order of preference. If no candidate wins an outright first-choice majority, ranked choice voting runoffs determine a majority winner.
Independent Voter News said voters want to keep campaign finance transparency rules and “true source” requirements that reveal who is really trying to influence state elections by injecting huge sums of cash through groups like the Aurora Action Network, a dark money PAC that funded the repeal campaign.
The outlet noted that the pro-reform vote has had to come from behind with the majority of outstanding absentee ballots in the past, in 2020 and again in 2024. The difference this year was that the No vote started ahead.
The vote occurred alongside Alaska’s gubernatorial election. Alaska voters elected a Democrat for governor for the first time since 1998, according to the Associated Press as reported by CT Insider and the Tribune Ledger News. Former state lawmaker Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, a Democrat, defeated three Republicans, including one endorsed by President Donald Trump.
Kreiss-Tomkins finished first in August’s open primary, followed by a second Democrat, Tom Begich, who withdrew from the race. Begich’s campaign said it had concluded that the “strongest path to victory is to bring Democratic voters, donors and resources together behind one candidate.” Bernadette Wilson finished third in the primary.
Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski endorsed Kreiss-Tomkins a week before the election. She said Kreiss-Tomkins “understands that governing requires listening to people with different perspectives and finding common ground to solve the problems all of us face.”
Many Republicans saw ranking as the party’s best shot of retaining the governor’s seat. It was a message that conflicted with that of Trump, who has consistently complained about Alaska’s unusual voting method, including during a rally in Alaska in October.
The rejection of Ballot Measure 2 means Alaska will keep its open primaries, ranked choice voting, and campaign finance transparency rules. The outcome follows back-to-back losses for repeal efforts in 2020 and 2024, and Independent Voter News reported that the mandate from Alaska voters is clear: they want to keep their reforms.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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