OPINION: Better elections give us better government

This November, Ballot Measure 2 will ask Alaska voters to repeal the election reforms Alaskans adopted in 2020. Those reforms were designed to give all voters more say in our elections and to make sure winners have broad voter support.

As a longtime business leader, I’m voting no on Ballot Measure 2. For too long, our political system has been gridlocked and can’t solve problems. Our fiscal imbalance. School funding. Housing and energy costs. These problems affect our ability to attract and retain workforce and investments. They affect our quality of life as Alaskans. We are losing our young people, with 12 successive years of net outmigration.

We often say government should run more like a business. Successful businesses solve problems. And the best way to solve them is to gather and consider as many ideas as possible. Innovation requires an openness to new ideas, even — or especially — when they come from surprising places.

Research backs this up. When executives consult a larger number of people with a greater diversity of backgrounds and viewpoints, they make better decisions.

How does this translate to politics? Extreme partisanship limits openness, innovation, and our ability to solve problems. If we want to run our government more like a business, the decision-makers must be able to talk constructively with people with a broad range of ideas.

Closed partisan primaries have a chilling effect on collaborative problem-solving. If legislators work with people from different parties to solve problems, they risk being “primaried” — challenged by a more doctrinaire member of their party.

Open primaries put all candidates on the same ballot, regardless of party, and all voters get the same ballot. This system gives voters more choices. For example, if I want to choose a Republican for U.S. House, a Democrat for state Senate and an independent for state House, I can do that. Under the old system of partisan primaries, my favorites might be on different primary ballots.

Alaskans have long preferred this system, dating back to 1947 when Alaskans voted to establish “blanket” or open primaries. Legislators instituted partisan primaries in 1960 but went back to open primaries in 1967 at the request of Republican Gov. Wally Hickel. In the 1990s, the Republican Party sued to be able to close primaries, and in 2000, the state adopted semi-closed primaries due to a U.S. Supreme Court decision. Open primaries are not new — they are an Alaska tradition.

In addition to open primaries, ranking in the general election ensures that winners have broad support. If a candidate wins more than 50% of first-choice votes, they win. If no candidate gets more than 50%, voters’ second choices are considered. This effectively enables us to have a runoff election to determine the most popular candidate. That’s why ranked-choice voting is often called instant-runoff voting.

An instant runoff not only saves money but ensures there is enough time for newly elected officials to have a smooth handoff, particularly during a change in administration. Smooth transitions are a wonky but important component of good governance and efficiency.

I’ve been in Alaska since 1972. I can remember when there was a lot of optimism in our state and in our politics. Leaders like Ted Stevens and Jay Hammond worked across party lines for the good of our state.

We’re all Alaskans, and we’re all in this together. I’m a nonpartisan voter, along with 60% of Alaskans. Tribalism and division don’t serve us. Fortunately, we now have an election system where voters truly feel they have a voice, and where elected officials can feel freer to solve problems. Ballot Measure 2 would undo this progress.

Please join me in voting no on Ballot Measure 2 in November to put Alaska’s interests above tribalism and partisanship and run government more like a business where the best ideas win.

Bill Popp is a longtime Alaskan, former business owner, economic developer, served more than 10 years in municipal government, and has served on dozens of community organization boards of directors.

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