OPINION: We should scrap Alaska’s ranked choice voting experiment

You probably know the adage: “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” And how about when Ronald Reagan, in his 1980 debate with Jimmy Carter, used the phrase “There you go again,” to refute disinformation stated by Carter in the debate. These two phrases have relevancy to the current debate concerning Ballot Measure 2, which would repeal ranked choice voting (RCV) in Alaska.

When RCV was on the 2020 ballot, it contained two significant and unrelated topics. The first was to have a nonpartisan primary election, intended to eliminate political party primaries for state and federal elections. I will not go into the details of RCV, because I am sure everyone by now is confused enough about this process, which was one of the agendas for implementing the new system by the proponents.

The second topic was to ban “dark money.” We were told that if Ballot Measure 2 passed, all that nasty “outside, special interest” money would stop. Hardly an ad was placed advocating for RCV, because the ballot measure proponents wagered that RCV was so complicated, it probably would not pass. They were right. Ballot Measure 2 barely passed (50.55% for, 49.45% against) based on the desire to ban dark money.

The result: In the 2022 general election for U.S. Congress, Democrat Mary Peltola garnered 48.77% of the votes cast. Republican Sarah Palin received 25.74% of the votes and Republican Nick Begich got 23.33%. The two Republicans had a combined total of 49.07% of all votes, yet as a result of RCV, Democrat Mary Peltola won that election.

This year’s Ballot Measure 2 gives us the chance to scrap the RCV experiment and return to the founding principle of elections — “one person, one vote.” Which brings up Reagan’s famous quote, “There you go again.” Those who championed RCV in 2020 are now aggressively campaigning to defeat Ballot Measure 2 to repeal RCV this November. No one should be surprised, because if RCV is repealed, they lose tremendous power in manipulating our political process, and here’s why.

The proponents of RCV, who sold us on banning dark money, are receiving millions of outside funding to tell us how great RCV works and how terrible it would be to “disenfranchise” voters if it were repealed. That’s hogwash. Elections are about making choices, and every legally registered voter has the right to determine how they want to participate in any election process. Here’s the real rub, as reported in the Alaska Beacon on Oct. 10: “The vast majority of the $12 million raised by the pro-ranked choice group No on 2 came from out of state. Its top three contributors are nonpartisan advocacy non-profits from the Lower 48: Article IV, in Arlington, Virginia; Unite America, in Denver, Colorado; and Action Now Initiative LLC, in Houston, Texas.”

Dark money was never eliminated by passing Ballot Measure 2 in 2020; in fact, it is the driving force for outside interests to influence Alaskan politics for their own interests, not ours. It’s time Alaskans return control of our destiny to Alaska and repeal RCV. Don’t be fooled again by the deceptive ads, funded by rich outsiders trying to convince you that a flawed election process serves our interests. Reject RCV and vote yes on Ballot Measure 2.

Craig Campbell serves as a Republican National Committeeman for the Alaska Republican Party. He has formerly served as airport manager for Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, lieutenant governor, president/CEO of the Alaska Aerospace Corp. and as director of policy and programs for former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson.

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