WSJ Criticism of Alaska’s Rank Choice Voting is Itself a Farce

The Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Board recently published a misleading and poorly structured critique of Alaska’s Ranked Choice Voting(RCV) system. For context, in 2020, Alaskan voters approved Measure 2, which replaced party primaries with RCV. In August 2022, using this system, Alaskan selected Mary Peltola, a centrist Democrat, to the state's sole Congressional seat.

This year, Rep. Peltola is up for re-election. In the August2024 open primaries, Peltola led the field with 50.9% of the vote, followed by three Republicans: Nick Begich (26.6%), Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom (19.9%), and Matthew Salisbury (0.6%). Facing the possibility of splitting the conservative vote—an outcome known as the "spoiler effect"—the Republican base pressured Dahlstrom and Salisbury to drop out. However, the spoiler effect is irrelevant under RCV. Instead of splitting votes, the system allows for rounds of elimination until a candidate secures more than 50% of the vote. Ironically, this dynamic could have been an opportunity for the GOP to broaden its appeal by attracting moderate, swing voters.

When Dahlstrom and Salisbury withdrew, the fifth and sixth-place candidates, Mr. Howe and Mr. Hafner—considered fringe candidates—moved into the final four positions for the November ballot. The Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Board argues that RCV allowed these fringe candidates to advance as a reason to repeal RCV. However, the real issue is that the GOP failed to capitalize on the inclusive nature of RCV, which encourages candidates to appeal to a broader electorate beyond their party's base. This is evident from the 2022 election when Alaskan voters sent two moderates to Washington: Peltola to the House and Senator Lisa Murkowski to the Senate.

In reality, the RCV system presents an opportunity for political parties to expand their voter base, but the GOP's narrow focus hindered them from taking full advantage of it.

WSJ Article: A Ranked-Choice Voting Farce in Alaska

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