Alaskans this fall will vote for the third time whether they prefer open primary elections to choose their favorite candidates for Congress, governor and the state Legislature.
For the third time, they will decide how much clout political parties should have in deciding which candidates make it past the primary and onto the general election ballot.
And for the third time, voters will decide whether they like the system that requires a candidate to win at least 50% of the vote in the general election to get the job, filtering out the applicants at the bottom until a winner emerges who is acceptable to more than half the electorate.
Alaskans in 2020 approved a citizens initiative to adopt what is called ranked-choice voting and used it for the first time in 2022. It eliminated party primary elections and moved the state to a one-size-fits-all primary where the top four vote-getters advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation.
Opposition to the switch came mostly from conservative Republicans, who did not like losing control with their party’s primaries and did not like seeing moderates win elections by appealing to the middle.
The opponents gathered enough petition signatures and asked voters in 2024 to repeal open primaries and ranked-choice voting — but lost.
They are at it again, having collected enough signatures to put the question on the 2026 statewide ballot. It will be third time Alaskans will vote on the issue. Let’s hope it’s a case of three strikes and you’re out, not the third time is the charm.
Alaskans should reject the initiative and stick with what is working well for most people. Afterall, nearly 60% of registered voters in Alaska are nonpartisan or undeclared as to a political party. An open primary serves that 60% a lot better than closed primaries where party loyalists decide who makes it to the November ballot.
Elections have gotten so partisan and divisive and polarizing that the last thing Alaskans need is to turn back the clock and chuck open primaries and ranked-choice voting into the trash.
Yes, it’s early to think about this fall’s statewide elections, but this one means a lot to the state. It’s not about President Donald Trump or any of the emotional issues that will consume the nation in the 2026 elections. It’s about Alaskans deciding how they want to run their elections and what they believe is the best way to select the best candidates.
It’s about electing candidates who can work with most everyone, and who can show it by doing well in an open primary, not candidates who pledge allegiance to a political party.
Larry Persily is a longtime Alaska journalist, with breaks for federal, state and municipal public policy work in Alaska and Washington, D.C. He lives in Anchorage and is publisher of the Wrangell Sentinel weekly newspaper.
