When the Founders created the United States of America, they wanted to form a representative democracy to protect the new nation from becoming an autocracy or theocracy.
In the beginning, only white male property owners could vote.
In 1870, the 15th Amendment banned discrimination at the ballot box based on race. In 1913, the Alaska Territorial Legislature joined nine states to grant women the right to vote, which was seven years before the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified.
In 2020, Alaska joined the State of Maine in passing a ballot initiative for single ballot nonpartisan primaries.
Now Alaskans can mix their vote between Republican, Democratic, independent, non-partisan, or other party candidates.
Ranked choice voting supports the Founders’ belief in a representative democracy and makes sense in states with a high percentage of independent voters.
— Diane Sallee
Anchorage
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