A handful of Republicans are decrying the system of ranked choice voting after Democrat Mary Peltola eked out a victory over two GOP candidates to win the special election for Alaska’s at-large House seat, securing a historic win for Democrats.
Several members of the GOP have denounced the voting system as rigged, arguing that the majority of the state wanted a Republican representative but had their vote split between two candidates — handing Peltola the win. Peltola’s victory is a significant pickup for the party, marking the first time Democrats have won an Alaska House race in 50 years.
PALIN LOSES TO DEMOCRAT IN ALASKA HOUSE RACE IN PICKUP FOR PELOSI
“Ranked-choice voting is a scam to rig elections,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) said in a tweet. “60% of Alaska voters voted for a Republican, but thanks to a convoluted process and ballot exhaustion — which disenfranchises voters — a Democrat ‘won.’”
Under the rules of ranked choice voting, voters list candidates on their ballots in order of preference. Election officials first tally all the first-choice preferences, and a candidate is deemed the winner if the person garners more than 50% of the vote.
If no candidate surpasses the 50%-threshold after the first round of tabulating, election officials eliminate the candidate with the least number of first-preference votes and begin counting second-preference votes. The process continues until a candidate receives the majority vote.
The primary offered a test of the unusual voting system, as most House seats are determined by the popular vote.
As a result, Peltola, the lone Democrat, was able to defeat her Republican challengers, including Trump-backed Sarah Palin, who called the system “crazy, convoluted, confusing.”
“Though we’re disappointed in this outcome, Alaskans know I’m the last one who’ll ever retreat,” Palin said in a statement.
Other conservatives criticized the system as a way for Democrats to rig the elections in their favor.
“Ranked choice voting is too goddamn complicated, advantaging the Party of Government — Leftists and Democrats who spend their days scheming about how to increase the odds of their candidates’ winning elections, while Republicans try to tend to business and jobs outside politics,” said Nan Hayworth, a former Republican representative from New York.
Meanwhile, other Republicans defended the system, arguing the GOP candidates in the Alaska special election weren’t strong enough to manage a victory.
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“Political hacks will come up with absolutely any excuse for a loss other than just admitting their candidate was bad,” said Meghan McCain, a media pundit and the daughter of former Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), in a tweet.
Peltola will finish out the term of Rep. Don Young (R-AK), who died earlier this year. The Alaska Democrat will be up for reelection in November, when she will once again face Palin on the general ballot.
