Phil Izon, who spearheaded the first campaign to repeal ranked choice voting in Alaska, said today that he is withdrawing his petition to avoid confusion, since there is another group trying to do the same thing.
In a statement to Must Read Alaska, Izon said:
“I have made the decision to withdraw my petition to repeal Ranked Choice Voting.
“For the past two years, I’ve dedicated myself to the fight against Ranked Choice Voting (RCV), working tirelessly to protect the integrity of our election systems. Together with incredible grassroots support, we’ve made remarkable progress: helping six states prevent the adoption of RCV, debating three Alaska legislators, three Oregon legislators, the father of RCV in Oakland and San Francisco, and even Presidential Candidate for the Libertarian Party Chase Oliver.
“Despite being outspent 100 to 1 by out-of-state interests pouring $15 million into defending RCV, we stood strong, losing by only a fraction of a percent after two weeks of counting. We fought not only in the court of public opinion but also in Alaska’s legal system, where we successfully defended our ballot measure with unanimous victories in both the Alaska Superior Court and the Alaska Supreme Court.
“Though we fell just short this time, I firmly believe RCV is on life support. Momentum is building across the nation, and I’m already offering my support to efforts in Maine and here at home in Alaska to continue this important work. This isn’t the end—it’s another step in the fight to ensure fair, transparent elections for all. Thank you for standing with me in this journey; together, we’ll keep moving forward.
“With the formation of a new group dedicated to repealing Ranked Choice Voting (RCV), I have made the difficult decision to withdraw my application. I believe it’s important to avoid duplicating efforts and the potential confusion of having two repeal measures on the ballot simultaneously. My hope is that this new group can achieve their goal—it’s not an easy task, but I fully support their mission and wish them success in this important endeavor.
“I will finish my two new petitions soon and I look forward to having everyone’s help on those,” Izon said.
At the same time Izon was filing his application on Dec. 16 for a petition to try to repeal RCV at the ballot box for the second time, a second group was also filing, and it has people such as Bernadette Wilson, Judy Eledge, and former Rep. Ken McCarty involved.
Their petition to the Division of Elections, also filed Dec. 16, is under review and they should be getting an answer back by mid-February, along with petition booklets so they can start the process of getting enough signatures to get the question on the next general election ballot.
The second group, which is yet to adopt a name, believes they have the political muscle behind them to get the repeal passed and they believe they can raise the money to fight the Outside dark money referred to by Izon, who is now turning his attention to his other petitions — requiring photo ID at the ballot box and a move to paper ballots.
Bernadette Wilson, who is the spokesperson for the other group, said, “We are excited to take another shot at ending ranked choice voting as one united front. Ranked-choice voting disenfranchises, and discriminates against voters and Alaskans are ready to repeal. Even after $15 million was spent lying to Alaskans about what a repeal would do, the repeal failed by less than 700 votes. We feel very optimistic heading into 2026 that Alaskans will refuse to be duped again.”
Wilson was the manager of the last conservative ballot measure to pass in Alaska — the 2010 parental notification law that pertained to minors receiving abortions without their parents’ knowledge.
