Alaska Is Now The Second State To Approve Ranked-Choice Voting

Alaskans voted for ranked-choice voting in statewide elections, according to The Washington Examiner.

Roughly 50 percent of Alaskans voted for the measure that will enable Alaskans to rank their choices of candidates from most favorable to least favorable, according to The Washington Examiner. Starting in 2022, the top four political candidates in the state will advance to the general election.

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If one candidate receives more than half of first-choice votes, the candidate wins, Fox News reported. If a candidate does not receive over half of the votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, Fox News reported. The votes that ranked the eliminated candidates as the first choice would go to the second choice until a candidate receives over half of Alaskans’ votes, according to Fox News.

“We now have an electoral system that lives up to Alaska’s independent streak by saying, ‘To hell with politics, let’s do what is right for Alaska,’” said Shea Siegert, Campaign Manager & Spokesperson at Alaskans for Better Elections, according to The Washington Examiner. Alaskans for Better Elections supported the Ballot 2 initiative, according to Anchorage Daily News.

Maine first adopted ranked-choice voting in the 2016 elections, according to The Washington Examiner. It was implemented in its 2018 statewide elections and the 2020 presidential election, The Washington Examiner reported. (RELATED: Supreme Court Allows Maine To Continue To Use Ranked Choice Voting)

“This is a victory for all Alaskans regardless of their political leaning,” Siegert said.