Alaska Supreme Court upholds ranked choice voting and top-four primary

Authored by alaskapublic.org and submitted by asanefeed
image for Alaska Supreme Court upholds ranked choice voting and top-four primary

Bethel citizens vote at the Yupiit Piciryarait Cultural Center in Bethel, Alaska on Nov. 3, 2020. (Katie Basile/KYUK)

The Alaska Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld as valid a voter-approved election system that would end party primaries in the state and institute ranked choice voting in general elections.

A brief order affirmed a lower court ruling from last year. A fuller opinion explaining the Supreme Court’s decision was expected later.

The ruling comes one day after the justices heard arguments in the case.

The new system, narrowly approved by voters in 2020, is unique among states and set to be used for this year’s elections. It is viewed by supporters as a way to encourage civility and cooperation among elected officials.

Under the open primary, the top four vote-getters in a race, regardless of party affiliation, would advance to the general election, where ranked choice voting would be used.

Attorney Kenneth Jacobus; Scott Kohlhaas, who unsuccessfully ran for the state House in 2020 as a Libertarian; Bob Bird, chair of the Alaskan Independence Party; and Bird’s party sued in late 2020 over the initiative, challenging its constitutionality.

Jacobus said Wednesday he was disappointed with the outcome.

“But Alaskans are going to have what they voted for. They voted for it, so they got it, whether people understood it or not,” he said. “And we’re going to have to live with it.”

Jason Grenn, a Republican-turned-independent former state lawmaker and a sponsor of the initiative, said backers can now focus more attention on voter education and outreach ahead of the elections. He said the decision removes any lingering questions about whether the new system will be used this year.

Boner_Elemental on January 20th, 2022 at 23:04 UTC »

It was the 3rd party guys suing that it was unconstitutional? What's going on that the article is skipping?

jezra on January 20th, 2022 at 22:53 UTC »

from the article linked to from the article "Critics are challenging the measure’s constitutionality and allege that it would dilute the power of political parties."

I would argue that diluting the power of political parties, will shift more power to the voters, and that is a step forward for Democracy.

asanefeed on January 20th, 2022 at 22:44 UTC »

Alaska will be the second state to use ranked choice voting, after Maine.