Alaskans will have eight choices for president on the ballot

Alaska’s first ranked-choice presidential election ballot will list eight candidates, according to the final roster approved by the Alaska Division of Elections — and voters will be able to rank all eight people if they choose to do so.

Alaska’s ranked-choice primary system to narrow down the candidates to the top four vote-getters for general elections does not apply to presidential races.

The first ballots for the Nov. 5 general election are scheduled for mailing to international voters starting Sept. 20.

On the front of the ballot are eight options for president: Democrat Kamala Harris, Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Libertarian Chase Oliver, American Solidarity Party Peter Sonski, Independent Jill Stein, Constitution Party Randall Terry, Republican Donald Trump and Aurora Party Cornel West.

Kennedy announced in August that he would be suspending his presidential campaign and endorsing Trump, but his campaign failed to remove his name from Alaska’s ballot.

The candidate to receive more than 50% of the first-place tallies in November will win Alaska’s electoral college votes. If no one takes 50% in the first round, the bottom finishers will be eliminated and the votes retabulated with voters’ second or third choices until winner emerges at 50% plus one.

In every one of Alaska’s presidential elections since 1992, before ranked-choice voting, the winner of the state has earned more than 50% of the overall vote. Four years ago, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump won Alaska’s three Electoral College votes after earning 52.8% of the state’s votes. Democratic candidate Joe Biden had 42.8% of the vote.

Four years before that, Trump earned 51.3% of the vote.

Back in 1992, independent candidate Ross Perot claimed 28.4% of the state’s presidential vote. Eventual winner, and Republican nominee, George H.W. Bush had 39.5% of the state’s vote.

The only other time that a candidate won with less than 50% of the state’s vote was in 1968, when Richard Nixon took 45.3%.

Alaska has voted for a Republican presidential candidate in every election since statehood except for 1964, when Democrat Lyndon Johnson won as part of a national landslide.

The Alaska Beacon is an independent, donor-funded news organization. Alaskabeacon.com.