PROP 1: Repeal vote in Alaska failed

Full disclosure: As a member of Veterans for Idaho Voters I worked to promote a “Yes” vote on Proposition One. 

During the campaign for Proposition 1 those of us promoting the initiative often encountered two arguments from the folks advocating a “No” vote. One of those was that Alaskan voters were unhappy with ranked choice voting and were repealing it. The other was that in Alaska, Ranked Choice Voting had turned the state blue. 

Indeed, there was an initiative on the ballot in Alaska to REPEAL open primaries and RCV. However, it failed by 743 votes (after a recount) out of 321,000 votes cast. This was in spite of the fact that Donald Trump carried the state by 14 percentage points. 

Also, a moderate Republican, Nick Begich, defeated an incumbent moderate Democrat, Mary Peltola, by securing a majority of the votes after RCV was used. 

I conclude that the majority of Alaskans, including many conservatives and independents, approve of Open primaries and Ranked Choice Voting. And, it is obvious that RCV did not turn Alaska blue. It did, however, elect a moderate to represent it in Congress. 

GRAY HENDERSON 

Bonners Ferry