I watched the entire presidential debate last night. It’s obvious that the system we use to select candidates is failing us.The problem isn’t you and me, the voters, and it isn’t the pool of people willing to serve. The problem is the voting system itself. In this era of disinformation and social media algorithms which tend to push us to the extremes, the system is not delivering the best candidates.
Alaska, fortunately, has an answer. We need ranked choice voting, or RCV, and open primaries at a national level. If we had RCV, we would have four presidential candidates vetted by the people. Four! Not two chosen by major party insiders, activists, extremists, and mega-donors, plus a handful of candidates who don’t stand a chance — Greens, Libertarians, etc. We would have four people chosen by we the people.
And RCV solves the problem of spoilers. When you vote idealistically under RCV, you’re not throwing away your vote, and you’re not helping a candidate you dislike. Simply rank your ideal candidate first and your pragmatic candidate second.
Unfortunately, there’s a misguided measure on the November ballot to eliminate RCV. Losing RCV would be a step backward and a lost opportunity.
— Tom Baring
Fairbanks
Have something on your mind? Send to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Letters under 200 words have the best chance of being published. Writers should disclose any personal or professional connections with the subjects of their letters. Letters are edited for accuracy, clarity and length.