Why Alaskan RCV might survive

It has been fascinating to watch the evolving count of votes in Alaska Measure 2. This would replace jungle primaries followed by an RCV round with a ‘conventional’ system of closed primaries followed by a plurality vote. As of Election Night and the days immediately after it, Measure 2 looked to be going the same way as several other statewide measures: no RCV.1

Here is why retention in Alaska would not be very surprising despite what might seem like a ‘wave’ against this reform.

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What is a “multi-party primary”?

There is some controversy over what to call the various “top-X”/“jungle primary” electoral systems now in vogue. The National Conference of State Legislatures now offers the term “multi-party primary” with the following definition:

A small but growing number of states hold a single primary in which all candidates, regardless of party, are listed on a single ballot. States vary in the number of candidates who advance out of this primary to the general election…

Elections for Nebraska’s unicameral, nonpartisan legislature closely mirror this process except ballots do not identify the candidates’ party.

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Responding to the response to one of my critiques of the Alaska system

This post’s purpose is to clarify a point I made in this essay about coordination failure under nonpartisan Alternative Vote, AKA “the Alaska system.” I have suggested in a few posts that elaborate single-seat electoral systems do not perform well in high-dimensional policy spaces.

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