You're standing in a drafty school gymnasium in Anchorage. The smell of floor wax is thick. You've got a ballot in your hand, but it doesn't look like the ones your parents used. Instead of just picking one person and hoping for the best, you’re looking at a grid. It feels a bit like a logic puzzle. This is the reality of the "Alaska experiment." Since voters approved Ballot Measure 2 back in 2020, the Last Frontier has become the nation’s biggest laboratory for election reform.
Alaska ranked choice voting explained simply? It’s basically a backup plan for your vote.
Most people think it’s some high-tech, complicated algorithm. It isn't. If your first choice is a total dud and finishes last, your vote doesn't just disappear into the void. It moves to your second choice. It's like going to a diner that’s out of reindeer sausage—you don't just starve; you get your second-favorite breakfast instead.
The Nonpartisan Primary: The Gatekeeper
Before we even get to the ranking part, we have to talk about the "Pick One" primary. This is where the magic (or the chaos, depending on who you ask) starts. In most states, you have to choose a side. You’re either a Democrat or a Republican for the day. Not in Alaska.
Everyone gets the same ballot.
Every candidate, regardless of their party affiliation, is piled into one big list. You pick one. The top four finishers—the "Final Four"—advance to the general election. This is huge. It means you could end up with four Republicans on the November ballot, or three Democrats and an Independent. It effectively killed the "spoiler" effect that party hardliners used to gatekeep who got to run in the general.
How the Ranking Actually Works
Once you hit the general election, that’s where the grid comes in. You see your four candidates. You mark your #1 favorite. Then, if you want, you mark your #2, #3, and #4.
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You don't have to rank everyone. Honestly, a lot of Alaskans just "bullet vote," which means they pick their favorite and leave the rest blank. That’s totally legal, though it sort of defeats the purpose of having a safety net.
Here is the play-by-play of the counting process:
First, they count everyone’s #1 picks. If somebody gets more than 50% right out of the gate, it's over. They win. Everyone goes home.
But if nobody hits that 50% mark? That’s when the "instant runoff" kicks in. The candidate with the fewest first-place votes is eliminated. If you voted for that person, your vote isn't dead. The counters look at your ballot, see who you put as #2, and give your vote to them. They keep doing this—eliminating the person at the bottom and redistributing those votes—until someone finally crosses the 50% finish line.
It’s a consensus builder. It forces candidates to actually talk to people who might not love them, but might tolerate them as a second choice. You can't just win by screaming at your base anymore. You need to be someone’s "good enough" second pick.
The Mary Peltola vs. Sarah Palin Case Study
We can't talk about this without mentioning the 2022 special election. This was the moment the world started paying attention. After the legendary Don Young passed away, the seat for Alaska’s lone U.S. House representative was wide open.
Enter Mary Peltola, Sarah Palin, and Nick Begich III.
Peltola, a Democrat, led the first round. But she didn't have 50%. Begich, a Republican, came in third and was eliminated. Now, in a traditional system, you’d assume Begich’s votes would all just slide over to Palin, the other Republican. But that’s not what happened.
A significant chunk of Begich voters actually ranked Peltola second, or they didn't rank a second choice at all. Some Republicans simply didn't want Palin. Because Peltola was able to pick up enough "second-place" support from Republican and Independent voters, she won.
Critics, including Palin herself, called it "convoluted" and "scammy." Supporters pointed out that Peltola won because she was the most broadly acceptable candidate across the entire spectrum of voters. It proved that in Alaska, the "R" or "D" next to a name matters less than the person’s reputation.
Why Some People Are Totally Over It
It’s not all sunshine and sourdough. There is a massive push to repeal this system. In fact, Alaskans have been fighting over it in the courts and at the ballot box ever since it started.
The biggest complaint? Complexity.
Some voters feel like the system is a "black box." When you have to wait weeks for the final rounds of counting to happen (because Alaska is huge and mail-in ballots take forever to travel from the Aleutian Islands to Juneau), it breeds distrust. People start wondering if something fishy is happening behind the scenes, even though the delay is just logistics.
There's also the "exhausted ballot" issue. This happens when a voter only picks one person, that person gets eliminated, and the voter has no second or third choice listed. Their vote just... stops. It doesn't count toward the final tally between the last two candidates. To some, this feels like disenfranchisement. To others, it's just the consequence of not filling out the form.
The Strategy Behind the Rank
If you’re a candidate, your strategy has to change completely. In a "winner-take-all" system, you attack. You find the other guy's biggest weakness and you hammer it until people stay home.
In Alaska ranked choice voting, if you trash-talk the other guy too hard, you might alienate his supporters so much that they refuse to rank you second.
We saw this with the "Rank Nick First" vs. "Rank Sarah First" infighting. The Republican split actually helped the Democrat because the two Republican camps were so busy fighting each other that they forgot to tell their supporters to rank the other Republican second. It’s a lesson in cooperation—or a lack thereof.
Common Misconceptions to Toss Out
Let’s clear some things up because there is a lot of noise on social media.
First off, your vote doesn't count twice. You don't get more "power" by ranking more people. You have one vote. It just moves. It’s exactly like a runoff election in Georgia, except instead of making everyone come back to the polls three weeks later, the "runoff" happens automatically based on what you already wrote down.
Secondly, it doesn't "guarantee" a win for moderates. It guarantees a win for whoever has the broadest appeal. Sometimes that’s a moderate. Sometimes it’s a very popular partisan who isn't a jerk to the other side.
Lastly, it’s not just an Alaska thing, though Alaska’s version is unique because it’s paired with that open primary. Maine uses it. Cities like New York and San Francisco use it. But Alaska’s version is the "gold standard" for people who want to blow up the two-party duopoly.
Is it Working?
The data from the first few cycles is a mixed bag, depending on who you ask.
- Voter Turnout: It stayed relatively strong, suggesting people weren't too confused to show up.
- Negative Ads: Some studies suggest a slight decrease in "attack" ads, but let's be real—politicians still find ways to be mean to each other.
- Representation: Alaska now has a Native American woman in Congress and a very diverse state legislature.
The system is designed to favor the "median voter." If you’re way out on the fringes, ranked choice voting is probably your worst nightmare. If you’re someone who feels like neither party really speaks to you, it’s probably the best thing that’s happened to your ballot in decades.
How to Navigate Your Next Ballot
If you find yourself looking at a ranked choice ballot, don't overthink it.
Step 1: Be Honest. Put your actual favorite in the #1 spot. Even if they have a 0% chance of winning, there is no "wasted vote" here. If they lose, your vote just goes to your #2.
Step 2: Use Your Safety Net. Find the candidate you "can live with." Put them as #2. This is your insurance policy against the person you absolutely cannot stand.
Step 3: Ignore the Noise. You don't have to rank everyone. If you truly only like one person and think the rest are garbage, just vote for that one person.
The biggest takeaway from the Alaska experience isn't about the math or the software. It's about power. It shifts power away from party bosses in backrooms and gives it to the person standing in the gym with the pen in their hand. It's messy, it's slow, and it's quintessentially Alaskan.
Next Steps for Informed Voters
To get a true feel for how this impacts your specific district, you should pull the "Cast Vote Records" (CVR) from the Alaska Division of Elections website. These are public files that show exactly how votes shifted from one candidate to another in previous cycles. It’s the best way to see the "flow" of Alaskan politics without the filter of news commentary. Additionally, check the upcoming deadlines for voter registration; because of the "Top Four" system, your participation in the primary is arguably more important than it ever was under the old closed-party rules. If you don't show up for the primary, you don't get to complain about the four names on the grid in November.
Stay engaged with local non-partisan groups like Alaskans for Better Elections if you want to see the latest legal challenges or proposed changes to the threshold requirements. The rules are still being tinkered with, and staying updated is the only way to make sure your rank actually counts.