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Editor's Note: This piece originally published on The Fulcrum and has been re=published on IVN with permission from the publisher. The authors are Todd Connor and Eric Bronner, who are Navy veterans and co-founders of Veterans for Political Innovation. Alaska is a unique state in many ways, including one that may surprise you: Alaska leads the way for election innovation. That’s right: while many states in the lower 48 are stuck with toxic, partisan politics and party-base controlled elections,

Six Republican candidates have launched campaigns for the 2024 presidential primary, and there are still over a dozen potential candidates that could enter the race. Citizen Data asked voters, “in such a crowded field would you like to rank your choices?” 61% of poll respondents said they were at least “somewhat interested” in the option, including the same percentage of Republican respondents. “Ranked choice voting (RCV) solves problems in presidential primaries – it’s no surprise that voters

One of the nation’s most contentious battleground states has an opportunity to open its primaries to 1.2 million voters registered independent. A new bill in Pennsylvania recognizes that these citizens have a right to vote in the most important stage of the electoral process. Pennsylvania Senate Bill 400 amends the state’s electoral code to say that “[u]enrolled electors shall be permitted to vote in primary elections” in accordance with how primaries are structured by law. “Unenrolled electors

A new report from the McKinley Research Group (MRG) finds that Alaskans are generally satisfied with their new nonpartisan voting system. Not only is it simple, but they also have more confidence in their choices and that their votes matter more than in previous years. In 2020, a majority of Alaskan voters approved a complete overhaul to how the state elects its public officials. They changed the closed primary system to a nonpartisan top-4 primary, in which all voters and candidates (regardles

It is no coincidence that as the nation witnesses an explosion in pro-voter reform successes, partisan state lawmakers across the country are trying to undermine citizen initiatives, and block nonpartisan primary reform and new voting methods designed to give people more choice. In 2023, governors in Idaho and South Dakota have signed laws that prohibit the use of ranked choice voting (RCV) in their states. HB 598 in Montana, which seeks to do the same thing, has passed the legislature, while a

Notable Republican and Democratic leaders in Rhode Island have come together to change how the state conducts its primary elections. The effort, called the People’s Primary, seeks to bring more competition and participation in state elections. “It has become obvious over the years that our primary elections are the most important in defining how we will be governed. The results over the last decade have indicated very serious problems,” said Hassenfeld Center for Leadership Founder Gary Sasse,

Arkansas State Senator Clarke Tucker (Little Rock) has introduced a state constitutional amendment that would implement a nonpartisan top-two primary system in Arkansas similar to the systems in place in California, Washington, and Alaska. SJR 4 would replace a primary system that divides voters between a Republican and Democratic primary ballot with primaries in which all voters and candidates, regardless of party, participate on a single ballot. The top two vote-getters move on the general el

Voters have expressed their desire to see systemic reform to how we elect our public officials. When asked what specific reforms they want in a recent poll, many said they would like to see a proportional representation system -- which would mean a complete election overhaul. What would proportional representation mean? Proportional representation is exactly how it sounds. An electoral district is not represented by a single seat, but multiple seats that are proportionally allocated among can

After a mere 15 tries, Kevin McCarthy finally holds the gavel as Speaker of the House. Drowned out in stories of successive floor votes and physical altercations between middle aged men were a few voices who proposed the idea of moderates from both parties coming together to elect a Speaker that represented the center, as opposed to the party’s extreme flank. Loudest of those quiet voices was Mary Peltola, the Democratic representative for Alaska’s at-large congressional district. Peltola first

Billionaire industry titan Mark Cuban has a solution for the ongoing Speaker dilemma is the US House: Use ranked choice voting. “Is there a better commercial for Rank Choice Voting than what is going on with the Speaker's vote in the House?” Cuban tweeted Thursday. “The current system, from primary to generals to speaker voting, empowers the extremes to the expense of constituents. Time to change.” This is not the first time Cuban has spoken in favor of ranked choice voting. He praised electio