Alaska currently leads the country in proving how voting could work.
If there’s one thing most of us agree on, it’s that Us vs. Them polarized politics is not good. It drives us apart as a country, grinds constructive debate to a halt, and generally pisses everybody off. That’s because a two-party system ensures that both sides have every reason to demonize the other.
With ranked-choice voting, the parties are incentivized to work with each other and cross lines to court independent-thinking and swing voters, not just the base. If you can’t get a first-choice vote, you can try for second or third. This matters. In 2022, more than half of Alaskan voters split their tickets and crossed party lines to vote for the candidate they wanted, not just toe a line. Wow. Go Alaska!
Ballot Measure #2 wants to go back to winner-take-all-and-the-hell-with-the-rest. Ranked-choice hurts partisan politics, which is why the partisans want to get rid of it. And that’s exactly why Alaska needs to keep its visionary new RCV system.
Joe Aultman-Moore