Alaska Supreme Court upholds elections ballot measure, state will use ranked-choice voting

[brooklynite]

Anchorage Daily News

The Alaska Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the constitutionality of a new voter-approved elections system, ending the last legal challenge against it.

Alaska will become the second state to use ranked-choice voting, which asks voters to pick multiple candidates in order of preference. Alaska will use it in state and federal general elections but not in municipal races or the statewide primary.

Gail Fenumiai, director of the Alaska Division of Elections, said the division has been preparing to implement the new system since it became law, and Wednesday’s order doesn’t change anything.

In their order, issued Wednesday, the Supreme Court’s five justices say only that they are upholding lower-court rulings in favor of the new system, which was approved by voters in a 2020 ballot measure. The justices said they will issue a longer written explanation for their decision at a later date.

[leftstreet]

1. DURec