Six reasons to keep rank choice voting

"I voted" stickers at the Alaska Division of Elections office in Juneau on June 12, 2026. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Independent) By Joann Lott Rank choice voting is a system we need. Rank choice voting will: – Reduce the divide in our country. – Strengthen the voice of 'we the people.' – Allow elected candidates to act independent of their party. – End contentious and divisive campaigning. – Eliminate the 'wasted vote.' – Result in a true majority of voters supporting a candidate. How you ask? Please read on. Rank choice voting will reduce the divide in our country. With Rank choice, in order to win the election a candidate needs to win a minimum of 50% plus one of the votes. A majority. Prior to Rank choice voting candidates could win an election with as little as 30-40% of the votes, depending on the number of candidates running. This has resulted in more extreme candidates and party positions tailored to serve only those who voted for them. This has divided us. Since Rank choice voting requires a candidate to garner 50 plus one of the votes to win it will be essential for parties and candidates to amend their platforms and positions to reach and serve more voters. Finding common ground and reaching broader support will be the only way to win the majority of votes needed in Rank choice voting. Rank choice voting strengthens the voice of 'we the people.' Before Rank choice voting, candidates were put forth by the major parties. The major parties restricted who could vote in the primaries, based on party affiliation. This severely limited the choice of candidates and assured party control of the candidates that won the primary. Candidates needed party support to win the election and therefore were beholden to their party. Rank choice voting, has an open primary. Anyone qualified can run. All voters, no matter party affiliation, can vote for any one candidate. This allows 'we the people' to select the candidates without limitations placed by parties, while still allowing parties to put forth candidates in the primary. The top four vote winners, regardless of party affiliation, are the candidates listed on the general election ballot. Rank choice voting then commences in the general election, allowing voters to rank candidates first through fourth according to preference. The ranking process assures a winner with a minimum of support of 50% plus one of the voters, a majority. Our democracy is based on majority rule and rank choice voting enables a majority to be reached in every election. Requiring a candidate to win by a majority strengthens the voice of 'we the people,' but has the added benefit of strengthening our government by assuring a true majority is served. Rank choice voting allows candidates to act independent of their party. The open primary and the rank choice system will free candidates from full compliance with major party positions. Candidates will be able to win elections with or without full party support. Winners must garner a majority vote and thus must appeal to more than the party base to win. Elected officials will be able to act independent of their party, if needed, in order to continue to garner support of the majority. As noted in the first item in the list above, this will have the simultaneous effect of candidates acting to serve the majority and parties aligning policies to serve the majority. Rank choice voting will end contentious and divisive campaigning. Because candidates need to garner 'first rank' votes as well as 'second rank' votes (etc.) candidates will want to approach the election in a manner that does not turn voters away from them. Candidates need 50%+1 of the votes to win and that will not come from just their base. In order to garner second rank votes, candidates will want to find ways to reach those who will rank them second. Treating competitors with respect, not lying about competitor's positions and actions, and finding common ground with competitors will be essential to attract voters to rank them, if not first, then second. We the people, will benefit from less contentious, more truthful campaigns. Rank choice voting eliminates the 'wasted vote.' Before rank choice voting, we were often confronted with the 'wasted vote.' Usually this was a third candidate, perhaps not well known and not backed by a major party, but with what many thought were really good ideas. They simply were not going to win and therefore a vote for them would be wasted by taking a vote away from the other candidates. Rank choice voting allows a person to vote their conscience without fear of 'wasting' their vote. Each candidate is ranked by you in order of preference: 1,2,3,4. Your preferred person whether likely to win or not , can be ranked first. If they in fact garner the least votes in the first round of counting, they are dropped from the race. Your first rank vote now has no candidate and the system turns to who you ranked second and your vote is counted by your second choice. In this way, we the people, do not need to play games with our vote, to vote for someone we don't like, in order to avoid getting the candidate we hate. Instead, we can rank them in order of preference and our vote is counted accordingly. Rank choice voting results in a true majority of voters supporting a candidate. It is the only election system I am aware of, that assures, from four possible candidates, the winning candidate has garnered a majority of the votes. Truly a majority rule. The implications of this are huge for both voters and candidate. More voters have played a role in the selection of the winning candidate and the candidate knows they have more than a majority of support from voters. This will strengthen participation and bolster candidates to act in service of the majority. Rank choice voting is a system we need. I urge you to keep rank choice voting for Alaska. Vote no on 2. • Joann Lott is a Juneau resident.