In 2020, Alaskans voted to adopt the nation’s first top-four nonpartisan primary and instant runoff general election system. This reform was implemented successfully in the 2022 midterm election. Since 2019, Unite & Renew has been a top backer of its passage and implementation in Alaska.
The Old System
Alaska’s previous election system looked like the election system currently used by nearly every state nationwide: two separate party primaries followed by a general election. Given the deep partisan lean in the state of Alaska, the vast majority of federal and local races were effectively over after the party primary.
Prior to 2022, Alaska’s Independent voters (who make up nearly 60% of the electorate) were barred from participating in the primary elections. And, the fear of being ‘primaried’ governed all elected officials: working across the aisle to deliver results was a political risk.
The New System
In 2020, Alaskan voters passed Ballot Measure 2, adopting a first-of-its-kind reform to their election system. The new nonpartisan primary and instant runoff general election system replaces the standard incentive structure of US primaries with a new structure that forces politicians to earn >50% support of the total voting population, not just the primary base voter. In its first use, 2022, candidate behavior was noticeably changed to compete for the median voter. Alaskans retained their hard-right Governor Bruce Dunleavy; moderate Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski, who was expected to be eliminated in a normal primary by her hard core MAGA challenger, retained her seat in the Senate; and the candidate for Alaska’s U.S. House Seat who ran the most positive, unifying campaign, Democrat Mary Peltola, beat Sarah Palin 55%-45%. Finally, in the 20-member State Senate, 17 moderate, pro-democracy D’s and R’s were seated and formed a bipartisan “governing coalition”, sharing key roles and marginalizing 3 radical election deniers. Leading the coalition as Senate Majority Leader is Republican Cathy Giessel, who lost her own primary to an extremist “for working with Democrats” and re-earned her seat under the new system. In its first use in 2022, it is clear that the system produced more representative and productivity-oriented outcomes than the previous one.
Our grantee, Alaskans for Better Elections (ABE), built and executed the campaign on the ground in Alaska. In 2024, we are continuing to back ABE and Unite America, as they work together to defend against simultaneous efforts to repeal the system via the legislature and ballot initiative campaign.
Spreading the “Alaska System” Across the Country
Seeing the success of reform in Alaska, Unite & Renew is at the forefront of spreading these reforms to other states– red, blue, and purple– across the country. In 2022, we supported Nevada Voters First, the campaign to bring an Alaska-style system to Nevada. Voters approved this measure, but it must win again in 2024 to be implemented. In the 2024 cycle, we will identify and back other similar teams across the country who are building smart, citizen-led, bipartisan campaigns for historic electoral system reform in their states.
Want to go deeper on the Alaska Solution? Check out additional resources from our partners at Unite America: