Overview
- Alaska voters rejected the Nov. 3 ballot measure to repeal the state’s open primary and ranked-choice system, leaving the reform in place after a second straight defeat of repeal efforts.
- Under the system, all candidates run on one primary ballot and the top four advance to the general election where voters rank choices and officials reallocate lower-ranked votes until a candidate wins a majority.
- The change was first approved by voters in 2020, used statewide in 2022, and survived a narrow repeal loss in 2024 before this most recent vote.
- A late-campaign controversy over a candidate with the same name as Sen. Dan Sullivan drew national attention after a New York Times report; Mary Peltola’s campaign denies involvement, federal and state probes are open, and a federal judge rejected a bid to segregate ballots for that candidate.
- President Donald Trump opposed the reform and high-profile donors backed the repeal effort, turning Alaska’s vote into a focal point in a larger national fight over election rules that could affect candidate strategy and the state’s bipartisan legislative coalitions.