Ranked-choice voting repeal headed to November ballot

Alaska voters are set to have an opportunity in the November election to affirm or repeal the state’s use of ranked-choice voting, Division of Elections officials confirmed on July 24.

The news comes after Superior Court Judge Christina Rankin on July 19 disqualified some of the petition signatures collected by the repeal effort because the gathering process was not carried out in accordance with state law.

The judge found instances in which the signature-gathering process was improper and disqualified those petition booklets. She ordered state elections officials to remove the disqualified signatures and booklets and then determine if the measure still had sufficient signatures.

Whether there would be enough was not in question, but rather whether there would be enough to meet the requirement for a minimum number of signatures from at least 30 of 40 state House districts.

Officials with the state’s Division of Elections confirmed the repeal effort gathered enough signatures in the requisite number of districts and filed their findings with the court.

Former Alaska Attorney General Kevin Clarkson represented repeal supporters in the case and predicted last week that the outcome would be favorable for the repeal initiative.

Attorney Scott Kendall wrote the successful 2020 ballot measure that led to the use of ranked-choice voting and represented the plaintiffs in court. He said he expects to file an appeal with the state’s Supreme Court. The plaintiffs have argued that the initiative should be denied a spot on the November statewide ballot because of the improper signature process.

Alaskans first used ranked-choice voting in the 2022 election. Ranked voting replaced party primaries with open primaries. Under the new system, the top four vote-getters in an open primary, regardless of party, advance to the general election. The new system will be used this year for legislative seats and Alaska’s lone member of the U.S. House.

The Associated Press contributed reporting for this story. The Alaska Beacon is an independent, donor-funded news organization. Alaskabeacon.com.