Not red. Not blue. Just Alaskan.

The majority of Alaskan voters don’t belong to a political party and believe that elections should be about electing the best candidate, whether they are independent, Republican, Democrat or something else. Alaska’s election system celebrates our independence, giving us the freedom to vote for the person who is best for the job.

The power is in the hands and minds of Alaskan voters and the results speak for themselves.

Getting things done across party lines

Gridlock. Extended special sessions. Government shutdowns. It’s what we’re seeing in DC and the reality in Alaska before voters approved election reforms in 2020. But now, our unique election system puts the power in voters’ hands, forcing politicians to appeal to a broad range of voters to earn majority support and allowing all voters to keep them accountable at the ballot box. We should be proud of our unique system that elects legislators willing to work across party lines on the important issues facing our state.

For a Model of Bipartisan Governance, Look to Alaska

Governing, April 21 2025

Civility and Cooperation in the Last Frontier

The Council of State Governments

‘We’re all on the same team’: Inside the Alaska model for US politics

The Christian Science Monitor, January 21 2023

Nonpartisan open primaries let Alaskans choose values over party

Alaska Beacon, April 3 2024

How a bipartisan governing majority emerged in Alaska

Alaska Beacon, May 17 2024

Alaska’s bipartisan coalitions boost hope for working-class issues like school funding, retirement reform

The Alaska Current, December 20 2024

What Alaska has accomplished

Balanced budgets - fewer special sessions.

In the years before our current system was approved by voters, Alaska’s legislature set records for starting late, delaying budget approvals and resulting in uncertainty. That changed immediately after the first election under open primaries and ranked choice voting. Legislators were ready to start work on time and adjourned on time with balanced budgets.

Click on the headlines to learn more:

Public education funding gains

For more than a decade, public school funding stagnated, allowing inflation to effectively eat away at budgets. Most Alaskans supported an increase, but partisan grandstanding resulted in gridlock. In 2025, a supermajority of legislators from across party lines came together to pass a permanent increase in school funding. There is still work to do and our system elects lawmakers who can do it.

Click on the headlines to learn more:

How Alaska’s election system works:

Open Primary

Top Four Advance

Ranked Choice

Majority Winner

Nonpartisan open primary

All voters get the same ballot with every candidate. Voters have the freedom to vote for their favorite. The four most competitive candidates advance to the general election, regardless of party.

Ranked choice voting

Voters rank candidates by order of preference, ensuring their voice is heard even if their favorite candidate doesn’t win.

Majority support required to win

Winners must appeal to most of their constituents, not just a small party base. If a candidate earns majority support (50% + 1 vote), they win! If not, there is an instant runoff. This ensures majority support without the need for a separate, expensive runoff election.

Campaign finance transparency

Requiring the “true source” - the individual campaign donor - to be publicly reported shines a light on dark money and ensures voters have the information they need.

Alaska's election system gives voters more choice and requires candidates to earn support from a majority of their voters — not just win a closed party primary dominated by extremes.

We can't do this without your support.

We know the more that Alaskans learn, the more they like Alaska’s election system. Please help us get the word out!

Join Us

Donate

Open primaries and ranked choice voting are widely supported by Alaskans.

Here are some reasons why.

"We like Open Primaries because it allows all registered voters to have a say about who will be the candidates in the general election. Even though there may be a larger number of candidates running in the open primary system, Open Primaries have the potential to eventually increase voter turnout in the primary elections if voters have several election cycles to adjust to the change. And they give all voters the right to participate in all levels of an election. Our support for Ranked Choice Voting is also based on its potential to strengthen democracy. We need officials who will work across the aisle to solve issues and problems facing the State of Alaska and its residents. Party should not come before country and RCV has the ability to moderate the tendency we see in today's governance at all levels that tends toward party power rather than country governance."

– Judy Andree, Juneau

"I like ranked choice voting. The current voting system saved time and money for the citizens of Alaska and the State of Alaska. I think those who claim they were confused were confused as to why they must rank themselves and other candidates after blasting them. I was in kindergarten when I was 14. English is my second language. If someone like me understood the instructions, someone who speaks only in English should understand the system better than I do and did."

– Nelson Angapak, Sr., US Army veteran; former Senior Vice President, Alaska Federation of Natives

"Those who are fighting against RCV are bent on closing primaries, taking away people’s choices, and importing the divisive politics of the rest of the country. We’ve built bipartisan coalitions through RCV that are strengthening our education system, protecting our rights, and building our economy."

– Tom Begich

"I love that we now get to vote for a person rather than having to vote for a party. I love that we now get to vote for the candidate we actually want without fear of splitting the vote. The result is better representation, which is the entire point of government."

– Carl Brodersen, Juneau

"I voted for open primaries and RCV. I like ranked choice voting a lot. It elected good people from both sides of the political spectrum. It is our best way to return Alaska to a non-partisan place where we work together to get things done."

– Bob Butera, Anchorage

“Party-induced fear prevents many voters from researching other candidates. Prior to RCV, key party elites would determine who was on the primary ballot and which ballot you received. The open primary and RCV puts candidate ballot access squarely where it belongs: with Alaska voters. Any Republican can run. Any Democrat can run. More and most importantly, any Alaskan can run. We are no longer chained to the lesser of two evils — which is what terrifies the party bosses.
If we are looking for the best representative, we should not be shackled into choosing the lesser of two evils; we must look beyond fear and the gatekeepers of the political parties. We should grasp the opportunity that the open primary and ranked-choice voting provide for a better governance future.”

– Chris Bye, former Libertarian US House candidate, US Army veteran, Fairbanks resident

"RCV reduces partisanship, encourages more candidates to run, including independents, boosts voter turnout and takes power away from special interests and out-of-state influence."

– Santa Claus, North Pole

"Ranked choice voting has proven to be effective and valuable system for ensuring that elections accurately reflect the will of the voters. By allowing voters to rank their preferences for multiple candidates, RCV encourages candidates to appeal to a broader range of constituents and promotes civil and issue-focused campaigns. It eliminates the "spoiler effect" and reduces the need for strategic voting, thus empowering voters to choose their preferred candidates without fear of wasting their vote or compromising their values."

– Scott Crass, Fairbanks

"I've often felt disenfranchised at elections, forced to vote for "the lesser of two evils" rather than the candidate I truly preferred. Ranked Choice Voting gives better options and opens up the field to more candidates."

– Ann Dixon, Homer

"The voters approved rank-choice voting, and polls show overwhelming continued support for that system. Having been a non-partisan voter for most of my life, I have voted for Republicans, Democrats, and Independents, and I appreciate having the ability to rank candidates that a majority of Alaskans have selected to be on the ballot rather than the hyper-partisan candidates usually selected during closed party primaries. I support ranked-choice voting."

– Catherine Ducasse, Anchorage

"Ranked choice voting is an important structural remedy in this time of bitter partisan polarization. It leads to better representation and better governance."

– David Frankl, Eagle River

"Per capita, Alaska has more registered nonpartisan voters than any other state in the country. Our election system reflects this independence and the open primary gives all Alaskan voters the freedom to vote for any candidate they support."

– Penny Gage

"I enthusiastically support Open Primaries and Ranked Choice Voting. They provide opportunities for the best and most favored candidates to rise to the top. I especially like that my second-choice candidate has a chance of being elected if my first-choice fails to impress enough voters. RCV promotes consensus instead of polarity and gives me hope that we can work together in spite of our differences."

– Mary Griswold, Homer

"We want more choices, not less. We want more inclusion, not exclusion. We want more civility and respect in our election process, not mudslinging. We want Alaska's good to be your focus, not party preservation or reelection."

– Eric Gucker, Ketchikan

"Open primaries and ranked choice voting have taken the power away from backroom party politics, where unelected party leaders controlled the decisions of elected officials by controlling fundraising and endorsements. That is critical if we are going to move the State forward, because old school party politics doesn’t reward tough decisions; it only

– Randy Hoffbeck, Evangelical Pastor and former Revenue Commissioner

rewards conformity. We have already seen that getting a more diverse group of people onto the general election ballot and into office has freed our elected officials to work across party lines to find solutions rather than just defending extreme positions. Open primaries and ranked choice voting allow for political leaders to engage in open, honest and public discussions on hard issues instead of just focusing on what will play well with the party bosses in the next election cycle."

“Our current open primary and ranked choice voting system allows for more freedom, more choice, more influence, and greater participation among Alaskans. It facilitates broader discussion by the candidates, and that produces a more informed constituency—which means election outcomes are driven directly by the will of voters. The ability to have this type of engagement is restorative for the long-term intent of our democratic system. It decentralizes power and empowers voters.”

– Ana Hoffman, Co-Chair, Alaska Federation of Natives; President/CEO, Bethel Native Corporation

"Alaskans should be able to choose the person, not the party. Before Alaska closed primary elections, registered Republicans voted for Democrats, and registered Democrats voted for Republicans. What open primaries and ranked choice voting gives us is choice. The process to elect a candidate shouldn’t be controlled by a single party, in a back room. It should be the citizens who elect the candidate."

– Linda Hutchings, Business Owner, Soldotna Republican

"Open primaries ensure that candidates who have broader appeal to a greater number of Alaskans make it on the general election ballot, and RCV in the general election gives us the freedom to vote our conscience rather than trying to make difficult calculations about who has the best chance of winning."

– Ingrid Johnson, South Anchorage

"A couple of years ago, a prominent Republican suggested to me that we generally vote against candidates, not for candidates. He cited a number of examples. The open primary and ranked choice voting system gets us back to basics. Candidates have to earn each vote, one vote at a time. The current election system is a big, dynamic positive change of being able to vote for candidates."

– Jennifer Johnston, former Alaska State Representative

"Open primaries and ranked choice voting have given us the opportunity to elect people who care about our issues, even if they’re not Alaska Native. As a nonpartisan voter, I appreciate being able to vote for candidates regardless of party affiliation. I appreciate the option to rank or not rank certain candidates. I was able to control the process; no one else was selecting a candidate in a closed primary process that I wasn’t part of, then leaving me with the options they chose. I was able to cast my vote how I wanted."

– La quen náay Liz Medicine Crow, First Alaskans President and CEO

"The largest party of registered voters in Alaska is the ‘non-party’ – the commonsense, no-nonsense group sandwiched between the two main parties. Common sense and good government can prevail with the help of RCV. Given the polarization in the country, Alaskans cannot afford to merely preserve the nonpartisan RCV model; we have an obligation to lead a movement. Ranked choice will help restore confidence in our electoral system by creating a lane that allows politicians to become public servants — in service of all Alaskans."

– Joe Nelson, Chairman of Sealaska and a co-chair of the Alaska Federation of Natives

"Ranked choice voting keeps the choices in the hands of the voters rather than the
party powers. It also reduces the partisan polarization that has infected our country."

– Steve Poirot, Anchorage

"[Open Primaries and RCV] presents a unique and wonderful opportunity to ensure we each have a voice in our elections. The open primary system ensured that a diverse set of candidates emerged, one that better matched Alaska demographics."

– Ann Rappoport, Anchorage

“I believe in good public policy. Alaska’s ranked choice voting system is good public policy. It gives a voice to the majority of Alaskans who are not at either end of the political extremes. It also allows for better candidates, qualified individuals who can take thoughtful, moderated positions that would not have allowed them to survive a primary vote in the last few years, in either political party. I’m joining this organization to help maintain the ranked choice voting system in Alaska, where we are leading the way to better elections.”

– Bryan Schroder, former US Attorney for the District of Alaska

Alaska has one of the highest numbers of registered undeclared or independent voters in the country for a reason - we want to vote for candidates rather than parties or single-issue platforms. Our current electorate is much less polarized than it has been in recent years, and I think this will bring a certain amount of civility to our state government that appears to be lacking in other states.

– Brock Tabor, Juneau

"[Open primaries and RCV] let people vote for who they want, meaning we can vote for anyone on the ballot regardless of political party."

– Cynthia Tripp Johnson, Dillingham