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Steve Forbes used his Forbes column to issue a blunt warning to Americans: Alaska’s experiment in ranked-choice voting is a dangerous detour from simple majority rule, and the state’s voters have a chance this November to reverse it. Forbes argues that ranked ballots and top-four primaries graft confusing technocratic systems onto the sacred work of picking leaders, and he urges Alaskans to vote to restore clarity and accountability.
The repeal effort that will appear on the November ballot seeks to eliminate the top-four open primary and ranked-choice general election that Alaska adopted with Measure 2 in 2020, putting the state on a path back to traditional partisan primaries and plurality outcomes. Supporters of the repeal gathered signatures and cleared the administrative hurdles to secure a place on the November 3, 2026 ballot, setting up a clear choice for voters who want elections that are simple and decisive.
State leaders have taken notice: Lieutenant Governor Nancy Dahlstrom formally cleared the petition for the ballot, and the Alaska Republican Party has officially opposed ranked-choice voting as the repeal moves forward. Conservative activists see this as a rare opportunity to reclaim democratic norms from a system that elevates arcane counting rules over the plain will of the people, and party officials are mobilizing to make sure turnout reflects that priority.
Opponents of ranked-choice voting have also fought in the courts to keep the issue on the ballot, and judges have ordered only narrow tweaks to the language while allowing the referendum to proceed—a decision that critics say shows how fragile voter-driven reforms can become when bureaucrats and lawyers get involved. Conservatives are right to be skeptical of any system that breeds legal gamesmanship and opens the door to last-minute rewrites that confuse voters and obscure responsibility.
Remember how Measure 2 squeaked through in 2020 by a narrow margin and was first used statewide in 2022; that history matters because it shows the rules of our elections can change quickly—and not always for the better. If Alaska’s citizens decide they want straightforward contests where the top vote-getter wins, they should not be lectured by elites or frightened by claims that returning to simple primaries means closing democracy; in fact, it means restoring it.
This November isn’t just another election for Alaskans; it’s a referendum on whether we trust ordinary voters or technocratic experiments to decide our future. Patriots who value transparency, accountability, and the basic principle of one-person-one-vote should turn out and vote to end ranked-choice voting, send a message that democracy belongs to the people, and demand that our elections remain straightforward and fair.
