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Anchorage Daily News
Ballot
Measure 1 restores choice
By Jim Sykes and Ken
Jacobus
August 14, 2002 Elections in Alaska have changed significantly
since 1990. There are now six political parties plus independent
candidates. That's because we Alaskans value our independence and
political choice. Yet candidates can currently be elected without
receiving a majority of votes. Now that more candidates are
competing for the same office, candidates could win with smaller and
smaller minority percentages. A vote for your favorite candidate
actually can help elect your least favorite in multiple candidate
races. Voters will have the opportunity to change this on Aug. 27
with Ballot Measure 1, which gives voters more choices. It frees
voters to select candidates they really like and guarantees that
winners will be elected by a popular majority. It will also allow
big savings of public dollars. Measure 1 will adopt a voting method
called instant runoff voting. IRV works like the runoffs now used in
Anchorage and Fairbanks, but it doesn't require a second trip to the
polls. People vote for their favorite candidate but also gain the
option to indicate runoff choices at the same time. Voters do that
by ranking candidates in order of their preference -- first, second
and third. This way, if no candidate is the first choice of at least
half of the voters, a runoff count can be conducted without the need
for a costly second election. IRV empowers voters to vote for
candidates we truly prefer without "wasting" our vote or worrying
about "spoiler" candidates. Measure 1 will eliminate the current
problem in which a candidate strongly opposed by the majority can
win. Since 1990, numerous candidates have been elected to municipal
and state offices without majority support, sometimes with as little
as 28 percent of the vote. That means 72 percent of voters preferred
other candidates! "Majority rule" is one of the foundations of our
political system, taught to us when we are schoolchildren. Yet too
often our current elections fail that test. By allowing voters to
rank their candidates, Measure 1 assures majority rule in a single
election. Measure 1 also can save cities that currently use runoff
elections a lot of public dollars. Runoff elections are expensive
and a headache for voters, candidates and administrators.
Anchorage's last runoff election had only a 7 percent voter turnout
and cost more than $100,000. The important goal of electing winners
with a popular majority can be achieved in one election, instead of
two -- by using instant runoff voting. Ballot Measure 1 has the
support of Alaskans and political parties from across the political
spectrum -- Green, Libertarian, Alaska Independence, Republican and
Republican Moderate. Millions of voters in other places have used
instant runoff voting for decades. Utah Republicans use it to
nominate congressional candidates. Louisiana uses it for military
overseas ballots. From Washington to Vermont, state Leagues of
Women Voters that have thoroughly studied instant runoff voting have
endorsed it. IRV has been repeatedly tested for fairness and is
recognized as a significant improvement in voting. So who could be
against this "good government" improvement? The main opposition
comes from political insiders who know how to manipulate the
existing system. They don't like "majority rule," and have employed
the usual scare tactics to confuse people with claims like "too
complicated and too expensive," or it's "unfair" and "illegal." But
all of these claims are false. Courts have consistently upheld
instant runoff voting because it complies with the "one person, one
vote" principle and all federal and constitutional requirements. And
it's not too complicated. Australians have been using instant runoff
voting for 70 years, as have various universities and schools to
elect class officers. If Australians and schoolchildren can handle
it, Alaskans should do just fine. Ranking your favorite candidates
is no more difficult than ranking your favorite movies or sports
teams. Forty thousand Alaskans signed
the petition to bring this important improvement to the Alaska
democracy. Please vote YES on Ballot Measure 1. For more information
visit: www.alaskansforvotersrights.com
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Jim Sykes is a longtime
advocate for citizen and consumer rights and a founder of the Green
Party of Alaska. Ken Jacobus is an attorney who represents the
Republican Party of Alaska.
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