Opinion: Ranked Choice Voting is Working for Alaska 

Ranked choice voting is working for Alaska, and Republicans should see it as a tool that strengthens—not weakens—their voice at the ballot box. 

Republican dislike of ranked choice voting largely stems from what happened in 2022.  Mary Peltola, a Democrat, won election to Congress as Alaska’s representative, and some Republicans blamed this loss on ranked choice voting.  

A more likely explanation of this loss is that it was caused by internal conflict within the Republican party. The two leading Republican candidates, Sarah Palin and Nick Begich, did not like each other and publicly criticized each other. Because of the conflict between Palin and Begich, Peltola picked up enough no. 2 votes to win. 

The result of the 2024 election proves that internal conflict, not ranked choice voting, was the cause of the Republican loss in 2022, because the result was different in 2024, when Nick Begich once again squared off against Peltola. This time, Begich and the other leading Republican candidate, Nancy Dahlstrom, were careful to avoid quarrels that would split the Republican vote, and Begich won.   

Most importantly, whether you favor Republicans or Democrats, ranked choice keeps the power where it belongs—with voters, not party insiders.  

Under ranked choice, it is the voters, not the party insiders, who pick the winning candidate.