Ballot measure failure secures Alaska’s voting future.
Ranked choice voting survived another statewide challenge in Alaska as Ballot Measure 2 failed by seven percentage points. Alaskans first adopted the voting system by ballot measure in 2020. That system has faced consistent opposition from the Alaska Republican Party and President Donald Trump.
This year’s repeal measure also sought to eliminate campaign disclosure laws. The initiative was sponsored by Judy Eledge, Ken McCarty, and Bernadette Wilson. Wilson lost a gubernatorial bid.
“I was hoping that another effort would be mounted to repeal ranked choice voting in 2028,” Wilson said in an interview Wednesday with Right Side Broadcasting, a right-wing platform. Phil Izon, who sponsored an unsuccessful 2024 initiative, also posted on social media that he would look to place another effort on the ballot ahead of 2028.
The campaign supporting Ballot Measure 2 was heavily outspent during the election cycle. Bethany Marcum, who ran the campaign supporting the measure, said the initiative raised $2.5 million. The opposition campaign raised $10.4 million, relying on wealthy backers who also defended the previous system.
“It was the same problem we’ve had in the past as far as being majorly outspent,” Marcum said in an interview Friday. She added that activists have not yet decided whether they will launch another signature-gathering effort next year.
Scott Kendall, who helped write the 2020 initiative establishing the voting system, said support has grown since the 2024 repeal attempt failed by roughly 700 votes. The margin this year widened to thousands of ballots.
“To me, it is a large and growing mandate,” Kendall said, adding that “time is the friend of the reform.” Nearly a quarter of Alaska’s current registered voters have never voted any other way in the state.
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