Ranked choice voting

Ranked choice voting (RCV) will be in the news again soon with this being an election year. Alaskans have been using RCV to elect state and federal officials since 2022, after voters passed a citizen initiative in 2020 to require it. RCV allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference rather than selecting just one. If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, the least popular candidate is eliminated.

Voters who ranked the eliminated candidate first have their votes count toward their next choice. This process continues until one candidate reaches a majority. Supporters argue ranked choice voting prevents voters from having to choose the "lesser of two evils" when their preferred candidate is a third-party or independent who likely can't win. The primary arguments against are that it allows some people to farm their vote to weaker candidates to avoid a victory by a candidate of a political party they disagree with, and its complexity.

RCV was adopted in Alaska after years of close races and vote splitting resulting in winners being elected with less than 50% support. The new system was designed to better reflect the will of the majority and encourage more civil campaigns with greater focus on issues over attacks. RCV tends to lead to campaigns that are more consensus-based and less agenda-based.

Here's how it works: Voters go to the polls or mail in their ballots and rank candidates for each office in order of preference - 1, 2, 3 and so on. On election night, all the first choices are tallied. If someone gets 50% +1 of these votes, they win outright, like in any election. But if not, the candidate with the fewest votes is removed from the tally.

Voters who had ranked the eliminated candidate first will now have their second choice counted instead. This process repeats, with candidates eliminated from the bottom up, until one person secures a majority of votes among the active candidates. The counting stops at that time, and the winner is named.

Some voters may want to choose to select only one candidate and not rank the others. This is allowed under RCV - you can rank as many or as few candidates as you like. If the candidate you chose as your one selection is eliminated during the counting process, then your vote will not count in later rounds. Election laws refer to these as “exhausted ballots.” Ranking other choices cannot hurt the chances of your favored candidate – it only affects candidates with the fewest votes. RCV gives you a way to have a say in which of the finalists you prefer if your first choice has been eliminated.

RCV allows you to vote your conscience without worrying about "wasting your vote" on a long-shot candidate. If your first choice is eliminated, your vote counts for your second pick. Supporters say this leads to a winner who best reflects the preferences of voters.

RCV isn’t new; it’s at least 700 years old. The first documented ranked choice vote was in 13th century France for the election of the Abbot of Saint-Jean d'Angély. It was promoted as a fairer system that required the winner to have broad support rather than the strength of a passionate faction. Almost eight centuries later, RCV is finally coming into wider use in the modern world.

Alaska is not alone in adopting ranked choice voting. More than 50 cities across the U.S. now use it. Maine uses RCV for federal elections, and it is used in some state-level races in Hawaii and Utah. A growing number of other states are considering following suit. The success in these locations is creating momentum for a broader expansion of RCV across America. Many voters feel it leads to fairer, more representative election results.

Christian M. Hartley is a 40-year Alaskan resident with over 25 years of public safety experience and public service. He runs a freelance business, Big Lake Writer, from home in Big Lake that he shares with his wife of 19 years and their three teenage sons.