Polling has consistently shown a majority of Alaskans do not like “Ranked Choice Voting” (RCV). For those who don’t know the facts behind its installation in Alaska, here is how that happened — and how it could happen in other conservative states.
A few years ago, billionaires and other lower 48 groups spent tens of millions of dollars to create a “citizens’ initiative” to put RCV on the ballot. One of their “big” lies was tying “dark money” to the ballot initiative. In essence, they said a vote for this initiative would eliminate dark money in Alaska politics. The ads were dark and scary and, of course, didn’t rid us of dark money!
What they didn’t tell you were a few important points.
First, almost all of the money spent on the initiative came from outside the state of Alaska. It wasn’t Alaskans or our money being put into this effort.
Second, the very people and groups pushing RCV exempted themselves from the law. They can still use all the dark money they want to influence Alaska politics.
You read that right! They are using dark money right now, spending millions of those lower-48 entities’ money to convince Alaskans to keep a voting system we don’t like.
Why? Here’s the key point. Alaska is a cheap date. They can spend $10 or $20 million to create ballot initiatives here that would cost hundreds of millions in big states like California or Texas. Once successful in pulling a fast one over on Alaskans, they then use us throughout the lower 48 as the “model” state for passing such laws elsewhere.
Do you remember the soft-on-crime SB91? How about the automatic voter registration we’re dealing with? Campaign finance reform that would favor left-wing candidates? Like RCV, these were lower 48 groups using Alaska as a stepping stone for pushing similar laws in the rest of the country.
More than a dozen states have RCV ballot measures in play right now, and the central theme is “Alaskans love it.” It works “great up there!” I know this because I talk to legislators in other states and have even testified a few times at their request to explain RCV.
Here’s another thing those pushing RCV won’t tell you. At RCV’s core, it’s an elegant voter suppression scheme. When I was the State Affairs committee chairman, we had an Ivy League political professor brief us on his report. Perhaps the most comprehensive data dive on RCV to date.
He predicted we’d have our lowest voter turnout, certain groups’ votes would be disenfranchised at a higher rate, and candidates who didn’t get the most total votes would often win.
His report specifically tallied data from around the nation where RCV has been or is being used. Four specific groups of voters are disenfranchised at a significantly higher rate — minorities, senior citizens, English-as-a-second-language speakers, and those with less than a high school education. Often, their disenfranchisement rate could be upwards of 30%.
Four of the most vulnerable groups we should be helping to vote are actually being hurt by RCV. Their voices are being lost. In fact, contrary to what RCV proponents claim, over time, those groups get fed up with RCV and participate even less.
How’s that for a great system? It’s still a mystery to me why anyone who supports encouraging people to vote can support RCV. It literally does the opposite of increasing voter turnout. It depresses it, especially among groups that, by all measures, prefer and need a simpler system. One person, one vote? Not with RCV.
The empirical data from our first dance with RCV two years ago, for reference, completely validated the professor’s predictions. He was right on all accounts regarding what would happen here.
That takes us to today. Alaskans have taken it upon themselves to do what the legislature has failed to do. Repeal RCV. I had a bill for it, but the Democrat-controlled Senate wouldn’t even have one hearing on it.
So a citizens initiative was started by Alaskans for Honest Elections and others with a grassroots effort of many Alaskans who’ve had enough. They have had to fight legal battles by left-wing funded groups trying desperately to keep RCV here. Fortunately, the repeal question has survived the legal challenges and will be on the ballot in November.
Pro-RCV groups are still spending millions to convince Alaskans to keep it. Don’t be fooled! They know if Alaska gets rid of RCV, it’ll derail their nationwide effort to install this left-wing-designed voting system elsewhere.
Let’s send a clear message to the BIG MONEY folks from outside our state. Get out of Alaska politics. Keep your dark money. We’ll do things our own way.
In Alaska, opponents tried everything to keep it off our ballot, but they failed. Voting YES on Ballot Measure 2 will rid our state of the subversive RCV scourge.
And for other freedom-loving conservative states, beware.
A version of this article was originally seen here on the Patriot Post.
