Tag: alaska

Calling for “systemic change,” former Alaska Congresswoman Mary Peltola announced on January 12 that she will run for the U.S. Senate in 2026, setting up one of the most closely watched races in the country. Peltola will challenge incumbent Dan Sullivan in a contest likely to be shaped as much by Al...

The Trump administration has proposed reversing a Biden-era policy that barred new oil, gas, and mining development across much of Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve (NPR-A), a vast, ecologically and economically significant area roughly the size of Indiana. ...

Ballotpedia reports this week that in 2026, Alaska’s independent voters will have the chance to solidify their role as election reform pioneers by voting on two initiatives....

Alaska voters have a choice this election: Keep the nonpartisan election reform that opened taxpayer-funded election to all voters and candidates. Or, return to a system where party leaders have the most control over election outcomes....

New research shows that the nonpartisan Top 4 system used in Alaska not only has broad support among Republicans, Democrats, and independents, but in 2022 elected candidates in statewide elections that had appeal that went beyond their party....

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in The Fulcrum, and has been republished on IVN with permission from the publisher. John E Palmer is chairman of Rank the Vote and a member of the board of the National Association of Nonpartisan Reformers. Photo Credit: sarowen / Flickr Beyond being kidney-punched in the Capitol or censured by colleagues, the biggest threat a compromise-minded member of Congress faces these days comes from a primary election challenge. Being “primaried” for displ...

The Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC) has fined Anchorage pastor Art Mathias and the anti-ranked choice voting and anti-open primaries groups he founded nearly $100k for violating several campaign laws in their effort to overturn nonpartisan reform in the state. Members of APOC's staff investigated complaints filed against the reform opponents and came to the conclusion in August 2023 that they failed to register with APOC, did not file campaign disclosure documents, and failed to identif...

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...

The Alaska Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a voter-approved law that ends party primaries in the state, adds ranked choice voting to general elections, and shines a light on dark money in the state. Here is what you need to know: In 2020, a majority of Alaska voters approved a comprehensive election reform bill that changed the state’s primary to the nation’s first nonpartisan top-four system. This means all voters and candidates participate on a single primary ballot, regardless of party. T...