2020 Alaska Measure 2 Explained
Measure 2 |
An Act Replacing the Political Party Primary with an Open Primary System and Ranked-Choice General Election, and Requiring Additional Campaign Finance Disclosures |
Yes: | 174,032 |
No: | 170,251 |
Total: | 360,852 |
Electorate: | 594,966 |
Map: | Alaska 2020 Ballot Measure 2 Results.svg |
Mapcaption: | Results by state House districtYesNo |
Notes: | Source: Alaska Division of Elections[1] [2] |
Alaska Measure 2 was a ballot initiative approved by voters in Alaska as part of the 2020 United States elections. The proposal switched Alaska's primary system to a non-partisan blanket primary. The top four candidates progress to the general election, which is conducted with ranked-choice voting. Voting for U.S. president will continue to utilize primaries based on political party, but ranked-choice voting will still be used in the general election. The initiative also requires additional disclosures of campaign financing.[3]
Background
The campaign for Alaska Measure 2 followed on political activist groups seeking to change the electoral rules in Alaska. Throughout the campaign a high volume of campaign funding came from sources outside Alaska.[4] At the end of the campaign, the overwhelming majority of the money spent in the race was spent by groups in favor of the measure.[5] In 2020 a high percentage of Alaskans identified as political independents.[6]
Contents
The proposal appeared on the ballot as follows:[7]
Results
Results!Choice!Votes!%For | 174,032 | 50.55 |
Against | 170,251 | 49.45 |
Blank votes | 16,569 | - |
Total | 360,852 | 100 |
Registered voters/turnout | 594,966 | 60.65 | |
The proposal was narrowly approved, with 50.55% of the vote.
Notes and References
- Web site: ElectionSummaryReportRPT24 . State of Alaska . Alaska Division of Elections . November 20, 2020 . live. December 1, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201201011122/https://www.elections.alaska.gov/results/20GENR/data/sovc/ElectionSummaryReportRPT24.pdf .
- Web site: 2020 General Official Election Results Results. 2021-06-27. Alaska Division of Elections. State of Alaska. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201106024026/https://www.elections.alaska.gov/results/20GENR/Map/ . November 6, 2020 .
- Web site: Piper . Kelsey . Alaska voters adopt ranked-choice voting in ballot initiative . Vox . Vox Media, LLC. . November 20, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201120222819/https://www.vox.com/2020/11/19/21537126/alaska-measure-2-ranked-choice-voting-results . November 20, 2020 . November 19, 2020 . live.
- Web site: Anne . Hillman . 2022-09-15 . Why Alaska uses ranked choice voting and what we know about how it affects elections . 2022-12-06 . Alaska Public Media . en-US.
- Web site: November 18, 2020 . James . Brooks . Alaska becomes second state to approve ranked-choice voting as Ballot Measure 2 passes by 1% . 2022-12-06 . Anchorage Daily News . en.
- Web site: Piper . Kelsey . 2020-11-19 . Alaska voters adopt ranked-choice voting in ballot initiative . 2022-12-06 . Vox . en.
- Web site: 19AKBE Ballot Summary . State of Alaska . Alaska Division of Elections . November 20, 2020 . live. November 19, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201119031300/https://www.elections.alaska.gov/petitions/19AKBE/19AKBE_Ballot_Summary_FINAL.pdf.