Some conservatives support the open primary, which would be eliminated by passage of Ballot Measure 2
Voters in Delta Junction and other communities around the state are divided over a general-election ballot question that, if passed, would repeal ranked-choice voting. But the measure also would eliminate open primaries, which some ranked-choice opponents favor.
Alaska voters who turned out in Tuesday’s primary cast ballots that listed the names of all candidates running for seats in the U.S. Senate and House, the state Legislature and for governor. That’s because Alaska’s open-primary system allows voters to choose from all those candidates, regardless of their political affiliation.
That appeals to some conservatives, who generally oppose the open primary system – unlike Dawn Frazier.
“I think that an open primary is all right for me” she said, “even though statistically in my life it has mostly been closed primaries.”
Frazier is a longtime Delta resident and civilian employee at Fort Greely. And she’s a Republican. She said in an interview after casting her ballot at the community center polling place that open primaries require voters to be aware of candidates from other parties. Which is why some of her fellow conservatives don’t like the system. Like Terri Crowson [CROW-sen]. She’s an artist and retired federal employee who also spoke after voting.
“I think that open primaries, where anybody can vote for anybody, complicates matters,” Crowson said.
But Judy Ferguson, another Delta Republican, likes the variety of candidates on the ballot.
“I think an open primary is great,” she said. “You have the overall selection, and exposure. I think it's the way to go.”
Ferguson also is a retiree and longtime area resident. And she agrees that some voters don’t want to keep track of all those candidates. She says she, too, sometimes struggles to learn about all the candidates and their views. But adds that it helps her be a more-informed voter.
“I try to do some homework beforehand,” she said. “I found that I had more of an educated opinion than I would've thought for the amount of time I put in.”
And that’s the whole point of the open primary, says Bill Johnson. He’s a lifelong Alaskan and former history professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. And he’s a Democrat.
“It takes the power away from the parties, and puts the power back to the people,” he said.
Johnson says the open primary helps reduce the influence of political parties, because it frees voters to choose candidates whose views are aligned with theirs – regardless of party affiliation.
“I think without that, what we're given is the party makes a decision, and then we have to decide amongst the lesser of two evils -- the Republican decision or the Democratic decision,” he said.
Johnson said that’s what would happen if voters pass Ballot Measure 2, the Nov. 3 general election ballot question that would eliminate the open primary. It also would get rid of ranked-choice voting. That’s the electoral system in use in Alaska since 2022 that allows the top four candidates who got the most votes in the primary election to run in the general
Frazier, Crowson and Ferguson all say they all dislike ranked-choice voting and will vote for Ballot Measure 2. Frazier says ranked-choice reduces voters’ ability to choose their candidates.
“I think you end up voting for a whole bunch of people, and then who knows which of those people actually get chosen?”
Johnson disagrees. He says that ranked-choice voting, like the open primary, empowers voters by among other things ensuring that winning candidates are elected by the majority of voters.
“With ranked choice, you have to end up with more than 50% of the votes in order to be elected,” he said. “And right now, if there were three candidates, you could win with 42% of the vote.”
Johnson says he realizes there’s a lot of opposition to ranked-choice voting. But he’s optimistic opponents will reconsider, once they’ve experienced the freedom of the open primary.
