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Posts published in “Day: June 12, 2024”

A pitch for ranked choice

Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska is hardly a guiding light in the Gem State, and especially those who are cuckoo over Donald Trump. But she does offer a simple explanation about ranked-choice voting – which is an accomplishment in itself.

Appearing on a PBS program a year ago, Murkowski said it’s not complicated at all. She sees it as no different from going to a restaurant and sorting through the list of menu items. Customers will make their first choice, and may have in their minds a second, third or fourth selection.

With ranked-choice voting, she said, voters have the option (it’s not required) of deciding candidates in order of preference. If one candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote, it’s over – we have a winner. It gets a little sticky if no one gets more than 50 percent, but stay with me (or Sen. Murkowski) here.

If there is no clear winner in the first round, she said, “the person at the bottom of the stack who received the fewest votes is eliminated, and their second choice is reallocated to the others. You go through that process until one candidate has received over 50 percent.”

See? That’s not so difficult. And that’s how Murkowski – a moderate Republican – was elected to a fourth term in the Senate in 2022. The process might take a few days, or perhaps weeks, which might cause some Idahoans to balk at the idea. But Alaskans, and certainly Murkowski, appear to be happy with the result. Murkowski, who is no fan of Trump, acknowledges that she would have had a difficult time surviving a primary race under the old closed-primary system.

Alaska’s voting system is nearly identical to the open-primaries initiative that is being pushed in the Gem State. As with Idaho years ago, Alaska had an open-primary system – where anyone could vote in a primary without declaring party affiliation (Democrats were free to vote in Republican primaries). But, as with Idaho, Alaska changed to closed primaries – where the most conservative faction took control on the GOP side. The basis for seeking a change is about the same in both states.

Alaskans wanted more participation, a greater voice,” Murkowski said. Alaska moved to an open primary, where the top four vote-getters (regardless of party) advanced to the general election.

That’s what initiative proponents are calling for here. Hypothetically, that could mean that a gubernatorial race between, say Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke and Attorney General Raul Labrador, would be the featured attraction in a general election, opposed to a May primary. Voter turnout in a general election, of course, is much higher. Murkowski, for one, is all for ranked choice, with 26 percent of the electorate identifying itself as Republicans, and 17 percent identifying as Democrats.

You have 60 percent who choose not to identify with either party,” Murkowski said. “Where do they go? Where is their political home? In a primary, they don’t feel there is any real incentive to participate … and in the general, what they are given are two individuals on the extremes of both sides.”

Idaho’s percentages are more lopsided. According to estimates from the secretary of state’s office, some 57 percent align with Republicans and about 27 percent are unaffiliated. Ranked choice may not put Democrats on the radar, but it could mean that moderate Republicans (on the level of Murkowski) could have more of a fighting chance.

Murkowski sees a practical side for incumbents.

We have become too partisan in this country,” she said. “We see that in Washington, D.C. We see people who know where their hearts and minds should be on particular votes, but they know they are going to get creamed by their party if they vote the wrong way. They know they will be primaried by somebody who is more conservative or more liberal.”

I doubt if the slogan for the initiative will be, “What’s good for Alaska is good for Idaho.” But on this matter, Murkowski says her state could be a valuable example for others.

What we demonstrated in Alaska was the possibility that electoral reform can happen, and it can deliver outcomes that are less partisan and perhaps less politically rancorous,” she said.

This idea is worth a shot, if you are unhappy with how the Republican primary – which essentially decides most elections – is choosing its candidates.

Chuck Malloy is a long-time Idaho journalist and columnist. He may be reached at ctmalloy@outlook.com