Index
Civic & GovernmentAlaska, USA

Alaska Ranked Choice Voting

Summary

Alaska uses a unique election system combining a nonpartisan 'Top Four' open primary with Ranked Choice Voting in the general election for state and federal offices.

Rights & Rules

  • 01.
    In the primary election, all candidates (Republicans, Democrats, Independents) run on the exact same ballot. You pick just one.
  • 02.
    The top four candidates who get the most votes in the primary advance to the general election.
  • 03.
    In the general election, you 'rank' those four candidates (1st choice, 2nd choice, 3rd choice).
  • 04.
    If no candidate gets over 50% of the 1st choice votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and their votes are redistributed to those voters' 2nd choices, until someone hits 50%.

Penalties

  • 01.
    If you only vote for one candidate in the general election and leave the rest blank, your ballot is still perfectly valid. However, if your candidate is eliminated in the first round, you have no backup vote.

Verified Citations

Alaska Ballot Measure 2 (2020) / AS 15.15.030

Source
"The four candidates receiving the greatest number of votes for any office shall advance to the general election... the general election for these offices shall be conducted by ranked-choice voting..."