Ranked choice voting repeal effort survived legal challenges, qualifies for the ballot in November






pins
Pins supporting the repeal of ranked choice voting are seen on April 20, 2024, at the Republican state convention in Anchorage. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

Alaska voters are slated to have an opportunity this year to affirm or repeal the state’s use of ranked choice voting, Division of Elections officials confirmed on Wednesday.

The news comes after Superior Court Judge Christina Rankin disqualified some of the signatures gathered by a repeal effort on Friday because the gathering process was not carried out in accordance with state law.

Whether there would be enough total signatures was not in question, but rather whether there would be enough to meet the requirement for a certain number of signatures from at least 30 of 40 state House districts.

Officials with the state’s Division of Elections confirmed the repeal effort gathered enough signatures in the requisite number of districts and filed their findings with the court.

Former Alaska Attorney General Kevin Clarkson represented repeal supporters in the case and predicted the outcome would be favorable for the repeal initiative last Friday.

Attorney Scott Kendall wrote the 2020 ballot measure that led to the use of ranked choice voting and represented the plaintiffs in court. He said he expects to file an appeal with the state’s Supreme Court this week.

Alaskans first used ranked choice voting in the 2022 election. It will be used in the general election this November.


Alaska Beacon is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alaska Beacon maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Andrew Kitchenman for questions: info@alaskabeacon.com. Follow Alaska Beacon on Facebook and X.







Source link

Post a Comment

أحدث أقدم