By ALEX GIMARC
A new round of pro-ranked choice voting ads have been running for at least a week. The ads exhort the listener to vote against the repeal in November. The new arguments are all wrapped around supposed “loss of freedom” to vote for whomever you want to vote for in the primary election.
Who are the perpetrators of this repeal of ranked-choice voting? The ads blame usual punching bag — political insiders and shadowy political bosses.
The ads are backed by same three entities as the previous round, Unite America Institute, Final Five Fund, and the Action Now Institute. The three organizations continue to be outside non-profits using dark money to meet their political goals in Alaska.
The difference this time around is that they finally managed to find a local Alaskan to chair their effort: Lesil McGuire, former Republican state senator, who frankly ought to know better.
Note the disconnect here. After running and winning multiple elections as a proud Republican, McGuire is now arm-in-arm with a group of outside non-profits who believe Republicans, Democrats, Greens, AIP, and Libertarians should not be able to select their own party candidates. This is a mistake, an unforced error.
The biggest claim the pro-RCV crowd is making is that Alaskans who want to select their own candidates are somehow pawns of party elite, insiders. Is there any truth to that?
Given that RCV was brought to Alaska by “Team Lisa” Murkowski, after her far-too-close reelection in 2016, one can fairly easily demonstrate that the real shadowy political elite were actually the people who brought RCV into Alaska and deceptively sold it to an unsuspecting electorate.
Note that Alaska law allows anyone to get his or her name on the primary ballot. Before RCV, every single candidate who won a party’s primary made it to the general election as long as it was a recognized political party. Normally, this included Republican, democrat, Green, Libertarian, Alaskan Independence.
The Republican Moderate Party was a player for a couple election cycles. Over the years, Green, Libertarian, and Republican Moderates lost the ability to field a candidate because they received insufficient votes in the general to make the next general election ballot.
As usual, independents and registered non-partisans could make the general election ballot based on signatures gathered.
Under the old regime, we regularly saw 5-8 possible candidates for the statewide offices, with smaller numbers for more local legislative seats. But now, RCV eliminates our choices by only sending the top four candidates to the general election, doing what they accuse their current punching bag of doing.
The most important thing the current jungle primary does is minimize the ability of political parties to select their preferred candidates. Joining a party is relatively easy. You work within the party structure to select your candidate, let them sort it out in the primary with the winner going on to the general election. Should nobody get a majority in the general, they go to a runoff.
The pro-RCV crowd is of the opinion that Alaskans aren’t sufficiently intelligent to select their own party candidates, blaming all pushback on some mythical group of party insiders and elites. But we see quite clearly that the only elites involved are those connected with Team Lisa who gave us RCV and who are today furiously defending this thing.
The pro-RCV political elite continue to rail against the political choices of not so well-connected Alaskans, those who do not have the resources to bring in multiple Outside non-profits with millions of dollars of dark money to defend their new election system by blanketing the airways with ads.
In fact, the repeal effort is a completely grass roots effort. Calling it an inside job is committing fraud on the Alaskan citizens, just like they committed with the promise four years ago that RCV would eliminate Outside money, dark money from Alaskan elections, a promise conveniently dropped from the current round of ads. They lied before. They are lying today.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Don’t let them get away with it again.
Alex Gimarc lives in Anchorage since retiring from the military in 1997. His interests include science and technology, environment, energy, economics, military affairs, fishing and disabilities policies. His weekly column “Interesting Items” is a summary of news stories with substantive Alaska-themed topics. He was a small business owner and Information Technology professional.
Learn more about ranked-choice voting at Foundation for Government Accountability.
So how do I vote in the upcoming RCV election to get rid of RCVoting ????????????
Yes on 2; help fund the cause.
‘https://yeson2ak.com/donate/
Vote YES on 2.
Jim, vote YES on 2 to get rid of RCV. 🇺🇸
VOTE YES to get rid of it!
Yes on 2 rids AK of RCV.
RCV’s defenders will do and say anything to maintain the illusion that it is beneficial,
and the fact that “outside dark money” funds their campaign does not confront them. [They] are projectionists.
Is McGuire being paid?
I would bet the farm that she IS getting paid for this.
I don’t want you to lose your farm 🥲if you have one. Call me anytime and I will tell you that I am unpaid and joined the effort because I introduced measures like this while I was serving to reverse Anton Scalia’s decision to shift the rights to parties over us regular citizens. 9073518060. Call me 🙏
No I am not. 100 percent volunteer
No I am not. I am a 100 percent volunteer because I believe Alaskans deserve the right to vote for who the hell they want without a middleman. I trust us.
Must be a recent conversion as you ran as a proud Republican for nearly 20 years from 2000 – 2017. What in your world changed so that you now believe that democrats ought to be able to select Republican nominees in the primary? Cheers –
Lesil,
You are flat wrong on this. You can write-in or vote for anyone you choose after a primary. The two-party system works particularly well in today’s environment. RCV eliminated a closed primary and that means the Democrat Party can help choose the weakest Republican candidate for the Republicans. I know you are smart enough to figure this out, Lesil. I’m just hoping you aren’t being paid off by Lisa Murkowski. She is the prime benefactor of RCV in Alaska. And real Republicans cannot stand Lisa Murkowski.
Where is the AG as this issue is so important and with all the disinformation being put out there?
This again shows that it’s the poor worker against the political eleats.
Good point! Where is our Fearless Division of Elections Leader Dahlstrom also? No where to be heard for sure!
‘Rigged’ choice voting is bigger than just the elitists behind Murkowski. It is another way to dupe voters, devised and pushed by the left and funded by monies from various erroneous sources not in our state or even nation. ‘Follow the money’. Why is the left so heavily pushing this convoluted system and why is so much money and effort being dumped into it from so many outside sources – including Arabella Advisors and other nefarious sources from other countries? It isn’t voting. The voter is not ‘selecting’ they are ‘ranking’, with a complicated computer program doing the selecting. Voting is a simple process of choosing a candidate and voting for them, votes get tallied and the candidate with the most votes wins. Simple, and can even be done manually fairly quickly. Primary elections are for various parties to decide who they want representing their party in the general election. No one is being ‘disenfranchised’. If you are not a member of a party that holds a primary that is your choice. If there is a candidate you so want to see win a primary then join that party in order to vote in that primary. You don’t have to stay there if you don’t want to. RVC is not the solution. It is another dishonest leftist tool among too many being employed today.
This is funny, Elizabeth. IF RCV is a tool being pushed by the evil “Left,” then why have the DC Democrats sued our campaign for RCV in DC (Initiative-83) twice? Why has the Democratic Party in both Colorado & Nevada come out, publicly, against RCV? Whatever Party thinks they “control” their state will automatically and reflexively oppose these party-neutral reforms. Why should the 60% of Alaskans who are registered Independents pay for PUBLIC primary elections only to have PRIVATE political parties tell them they can’t vote for anyone, unless they “join the private club.” If you are opposed to RCV based on legitimate concerns, that’s fine. But the idea that RCV is being pushed by the “Left” is laughable, untrue and easily disproved. Onward!
A large part of the disdain for conventional party selection comes from the fact that the Republican Party has consistently been majority boomers who shun the new era of conservatives seeing them as far right and a risk to their perceived status quo. The Republican Party has consistently been scooting left, so far left they would be considered radical leftists by liberals of the past. The Conservative establishment is just communist light brand at this point. The Republican party shunned trumps rhetoric until they realized he was more in touch with the people than they were, now they ride his coattails and nothing more. When he is no longer viable what will the rhinos have to offer? More MIC and pro Israel war mongering? Embracing anti white diversity and amnesty politics like Regan? Regan gave California to the Mexicans and they still have it. The current state of conservative establishment politics is not prepared to return America to its nation status as a majority Western European people with shared culture and heritage, instead they have drank the multicultural imperial cool-aid and given our nation away to the “teaming masses of refuse”. Demographics is destiny and our destiny is headed for the 3rd world. Asians and Europeans are the only peoples who have an average IQ over 100. Our national IQ is plummeting as crime and disorder sky rockets. You can’t actually expect the 3rd world to keep the fire of Liberty burning, they lack all virtues required. The Republican Party is more interested in securing the black and Latino vote than securing the border, they will pander to every “minority” identity but European ethnic people make up only 7% of the world’s population yet the whole world feels entitled to our nations.
What are you talking about?
Unless I am mistaken, the easiest way to defeat RCV on this election is to mark ONLY the first choice on your ballot. Don’t mark the 2nd – 5th choices to prevent those 2nd – 5th choices being counted as a vote for what you don’t want.
IE: Pretty sure the ballot will have two choices to repeal RCV: (Yes and No) Do not mark a second choice!
TRASHED BALLOTS
How does it happen?
When no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round of tabulation, some voters’ ballots must be trashed to force a majority. This is not a flaw in the system, it is the system.
Rather than just voting for one candidate, voters must vote for (i.e., rank) all candidates to ensure that their ballots are counted and not trashed. This includes voting for candidates with whom a voter fundamentally disagrees.
When a voter selects only one candidate on their ballot, either as their first choice or for all choices, and that candidate is no longer in contention, their ballots are thrown in the trash.
Elections in Maine, Alaska, and New York City are examples of thousands of trashed ballots under ranked-choice voting. By throwing away these ballots, ranked-choice voting has erased their votes and left their voices unheard in the American democratic system.
COPIED FROM FGA
AKWookie ,Sadly you seem to be under the mistaken impression that RCV applies to ballot measures. It does NOT! Ballot measures are yes/no propositions only and if you mark both you spoil your ballot.
Also it should further be pointed out that in the general election there are ONLY FOUR candidate MAX to rank. There is no 5th choice.
You are mistaken.
Ranking only one candidate does nothing to get rid of RCV. It is actually helping the leftists that want their candidates to win.
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The best way to get rid of it is to vote YES on proposition 2.
Ranking all conservatives is incredibly important. If there are multiple republicans and one democrat on a general ballot – you will hand the election to the democrat if you only vote for a 1st choice. This is how the democrats win – this is what “splitting the vote” looks like. If there are multiple republicans on a ballot, you must rank all of them if you want a conservative to win the race. Look how many races only have one democrat. Please don’t hand them our elections. The democrats are playing this game to win. Republicans MUST rank the red if we’re to come out ahead. If you only vote once, and your chosen candidate comes in 3rd, they will drop out during the 2nd round of vote counting and your vote will be gone, kaput. If you rank the red, your 2nd choice republican will get your vote and they can go on to beat a lone democrat. Again – please RANK THE RED if you want to see a Republican candidate win.
Lesil McGuire’s nickname in Juneau was Sleazil. The ADN did a good job documenting her conduct. Recall the junkets she used to take on Alaskans’ dime? Why does a legislator need to visiit Paris? Yet, this was one of many junkets she took.
One wonders how much she’s getting paid for this newest assault on Alaskans.
Because these outside dark money groups have so much cash to influence our elections ad rates have become so expensive local candidates can’t afford to run TV ads.
Nice 🤣I hope involved fun. Never heard that and not sure people would agree I was sleezy lol 😂
Nice 🤣I hope involved fun. Never heard that and not sure people would agree I was sleezy lol.
Your ex-husband was. And yet, we rather liked him. Did you pay convicted attorney Paul Stockler to represent him? If so, that would explain everything.
The anti-Proposition 2 “Denying Freedoms to Veterans” advertisement is the most intellectually dishonest political message I have ever seen.
I’m sorry to say that we will most likely be stuck with RCV.
Why the Golden Rule ” Those with the the Gold make the Rules”
To many people are being Gaslighted
“Gaslighting is the action of repetitively (and often brazenly) lying to someone to manipulate”
It was done the first time we voted on RCV, back then it was described as a way to stop dark money.
Just look at all the dark money behind keeping RCV.
Why yes, Alex, those are bald faced lies. They’re the same lies that Scott Kendall and the RCV crowd told when Alaskans were deceived and originally voted for this mess. This was never about eliminating dark money from elections and that has not been the result. They said this was about more choice and now say that Rs would have won in the past, yet there’s no real data to support this. The results strangely only work in favor of Dems. The RCV crowd continues parroting this tripe with more double-speak. Kendall should be shown the door to Alaska and walk away with the imprint of a size 9 vibrate sole on his backside.
After 25 years in the Air Force I Never had a problem to vote who I wanted to vote for what are these people talking about?.
Great question Jim. It doesnt seem to be like a yes or no vote.
Fix your computer it says I already made a statement .
Exactly, These ads are not misleading. They are out right lies. The outsiders are doing everything to save
Rank Choice Voting and Mary Petola. The republican party has always been infested with RINO’s, so Lesil McGuire is nothing new. What I’m worried about is the lack of turn out, to many working class Alaskans stay home and don’t vote.
Good questions- very confusing
First of all, if your cause is so righteous, why lie?
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Next, the ads I am bombarded with do not actually mention the voting. It is all about open primaries and dark money. Voting? Why mention that at all?
State of Alaska Ballot Measures webpage:
‘https://www.elections.alaska.gov/petitions-and-ballot-measures/#ballotmeasures
Look at who is sponsoring and supporting these bills.
Vote NO on ballot measure 1
Vote YES on ballot measure 2
Just got a Vote No on 2 ad in my mailbox.
Apparently, it is all about POWER! (In big evil looking BOLD letters)
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What is interesting is the Alaska Current editorial board says Ballot Measure 2 is all about the open primaries. Weird. I never heard of the Alaska Current, so I looked into it a bit.
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Their website says the are a non-partisan news site, and the headlines I skimmed seem to indicate some balance. However, it does tilt left. They seem to have started in October 2022.
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The Alaska Current FB page has gotten 763 likes, and has 1K followers.
Let that sink in for a few seconds.
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OK, got it? See where this is going.
If the No on 2 people used the ADN or some other major news outlet, it might carry some weight. If they used Alaska News Source, or KTVA editorial board, fine. But, they used the Alaska Current, a news outlet that no one has heard of. Basically, they used one individuals opinion and fancied it up as “news.”
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Once again. If your cause is so righteous, why lie (or conflate).
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