Alaskans opt to stick with ranked choice voting

Alaskans have decided to stick with ranked choice voting, rejecting a ballot measure that sought to repeal the system, NBC News projects.

The unusual voting method was in the spotlight after a controversy around a potential spoiler candidate in the state’s competitive Senate race gathered steam in the final stretch of the election.

In Alaska, candidates from all parties run on the same primary ballot, with the top four vote-getters advancing to the general election. Voters then rank those candidates in order of preference, and if no one eclipses the 50% threshold on the first ballot, the race goes to ranked choice tabulation.

The fourth-place finisher is eliminated, and their supporters are redistributed based on how voters ranked the other candidates on the ballot. The process continues until a candidate reaches a majority.

While supporters of the system say it gives more power to voters and incentivizes candidates to not only appeal to the most extreme elements of a party, critics argue it causes confusion.

One week before Election Day, The New York Times reported that Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola’s campaign was involved in recruiting a candidate with the same name as GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan to run for Senate. Peltola and her campaign have denied pushing Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher, to enter the race or being involved in his campaign.

The episode is under federal and state investigation, though a federal judge earlier this month dismissed an effort by the Trump administration to segregate ballots cast for Dan J. Sullivan.

Ranked choice voting first went into effect in Alaska in 2022, after voters approved it through a ballot measure in 2020. A similar effort to repeal it failed by fewer than 800 votes in 2024.

Open primaries and ranked-choice voting aren’t the only voting method that allow spoiler candidates. And supporters say that the method mitigates the effects by allowing voters to rank multiple candidates.

Alaska and Maine are the only states that use ranked-choice voting for statewide elections.