A New System Born from a Ballot Measure
In 2020, Alaskan voters narrowly approved Ballot Measure 2, a sweeping reform of their election process. This ushered in a brand-new system for all state and federal elections, starting in 2022. The goal, according to supporters, was to reduce political polarization, empower independent voters, and ensure that winners have broader support. The result is a two-part process that stands out in the American electoral landscape: a nonpartisan top-four primary followed by a ranked-choice general election. This system was upheld by the Alaska Supreme Court in early 2022, cementing it as the new law of the land.
Step One: The 'Top-Four' Open Primary
The first hurdle for any candidate running for the U.S. House or Senate in Alaska is the open primary. Unlike traditional partisan primaries
where Democrats and Republicans vote on separate ballots to select their party's nominee, Alaska puts all candidates on a single ballot, regardless of party affiliation. Voters, no matter their own party registration, pick one candidate. The four candidates who receive the most votes—whether they're Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, or independents—all advance to the general election. This means the final slate of four could theoretically include multiple candidates from the same party, or no candidates from a major party at all.
Step Two: The Ranked-Choice General Election
This is where the 'majority' question gets interesting. In the general election, voters don't just pick one candidate; they rank the four finalists in order of preference: first, second, third, and fourth. You can rank as many or as few as you like. If you only love one candidate, you can just fill in your first choice and leave the rest blank. This ranking system is designed to simulate a series of runoff elections instantly.
How a Winner Is Determined
Election officials first count all the first-choice votes. If a candidate receives more than 50% of the first-choice votes, they are the winner, and the counting stops. This is a clean majority win. However, with four candidates, this is unlikely. If no one hits that 50%-plus-one-vote threshold, the counting goes to a second round. In this round, the candidate with the fewest first-place votes is eliminated. The ballots that ranked the eliminated candidate first are then redistributed to those voters' second-choice picks. This process continues—eliminating the last-place candidate and reallocating their votes based on the next preference—until only two candidates remain. The candidate with the most votes at that point is declared the winner. So, a candidate wins by securing a majority of the remaining votes in the final head-to-head round.
