Contributed by Jim Sykes
As people prepare to vote on Ballot Measure 2 on November 3, it’s important to revisit the 1990 governor’s election that Walter Hickel won with only 39% of the vote. 61% of Alaska voters did not approve the winner.
Tony Knowles placed second with 31%, Arliss Sturgelewski was third with 26%, and the last two candidates got a combined 4%. The strength of the top four candidates was not tested by vote. There was no runoff election. A candidate who did not earn majority support won the governor’s seat. We don’t want to go back to that situation.
Ballot Measure 2 would remove open primaries and ranked choice voting, taking power from the voters and entrenching it in the hands of political parties and their bosses. Today, all three of Alaska’s recognized political parties and 11 political groups make up only 37% of Alaska’s voters, a real example of the tail wagging the dog.
If Ballot Measure 2 passes, political parties can decide whether or not to allow Alaska’s 63% of independent non-party voters into their party’s primary. Right now, all Alaska voters have equal access. Measure 2 would also remove Alaska’s nation-leading ban on dark money, prohibiting secret political spending.
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, gave $1,500,000 to Alaska campaigns supporting Ballot Measure 2, which would allow huge anonymous money into Alaska politics. Voting no on 2 would protect the transparency laws that let us know when billionaires, like Elon Musk, spend in our elections. Voting no on 2 also supports participation by allowing all voters to participate in primaries, whether they belong to a political party or not.
Respected former Alaska Attorney General Bruce Botelho summarized it clearly:
“Alaskan voters passed these pro-voter reforms in 2020. We have already approved this system, and we have benefited from it. Voting no on Ballot Measure 2 will keep the power in voters’ hands. Voting yes will take that power away again and give it back to political elites, special interests, and outside interests. Don’t let them win. “Vote no on Ballot Measure 2 to keep the power and freedom where it belongs, in the hands of the voters.”
