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The Division of Elections did a spectacular job of educating Alaskans about ranked-choice voting before the 2022 elections.
Its effort went a long way in sealing the deal for Alaska to maintain the ranked-choice voting system.
The system isn’t difficult. Voters choose their top choice. Then follow it with their second, third and fourth preferences.
It’s how any number of decisions come about in other arenas, including deciding what to order on a restaurant’s menu. This is the top choice, but, if it isn’t available any longer, then the second is this other.
The results of the 2022 U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate races in Alaska have prompted two losing candidates and their supporters to begin efforts to eliminate ranked-choice voting.
The Legislature also has pre-filed bills addressing axing ranked-choice voting.
Whether the attempt is through legislation or through a ballot initiative pushed by Alaskans, neither can take effect — if successful — until 2024.
The 2020 initiative that resulted in ranked-choice voting for Alaska cannot be changed by the Legislature until it has been in place a couple years. And it would take two years for the initiative process to play out.
But all of that is unnecessary.
Newly elected Congresswoman Mary Peltola was destined to win election to the U.S. House seat vacated upon Congressman Don Young’s death.
Peltola not only won the votes of members of the Democratic Party of which she is affiliated, but she had significant support from life-long Republicans and a serious segment of unaffiliated voters.
Ultimately, she won because of her outstanding character.
For the same reason, Sen. Lisa Murkowski won re-election.
Character matters to Alaskans, regardless of whether the voting system is ranked-choice voting, whether it is an election year that typically attracts more or fewer voters, whether voting fits into the voters’ schedule on Election Day or whatever reasons that might affect turnout.
And the fact that the state prepared voters well before elections has sealed the future of ranked-choice voting in Alaska.
It is here to stay.