An initiative is circulating in Alaska for a top-four system. Parties would no longer be able to nominate candidates for any partisan office except President. Instead all candidates would run in the August primary, and only the top four could then appear on the November ballot. The same initiative also makes campaign finance rules more restrictive.
The initiative has already received over $500,000 from Kathryn Murdoch, daughter-in-law of Rupert Murdoch, according to this story.
The system would not use ranked choice voting in the primary, but it would use ranked choice voting in the general election. However, in races with no incumbent for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, and Governor, that would be no help to minor parties. When there is no incumbent for these important offices, there are invariably at least four major party candidates with name recognition. With no ranked choice voting in the primary, it is very unlikely that any minor party candidate would place in the top four.
The measure is fundamentally illogical. If parties are no longer permitted to have nominees, then there is no reason for a primary at all. There should simply be a general election with ranked choice voting, so that no candidate, party, or point-of-view would be excluded from the general election campaign season.
It is unfortunate that Fairvote, would traditionally has been a friend to minor parties, is backing this initiative.
This initiative has always been so out of left field for me, in a state that already has weird electoral rules, like their Democratic-Libertarian-Independence Primaries. That rule has always struck me as beneficial publicity for the Libertarians, as well as just good at showing the flexability that voters in Alaska really seem to have.
This Top-Four intiative, with one minor tweak, seems like it would only be more of a good thing. I say let them have their top four general election, but with one member of each of the four political parties: Republican, Democratic, Libertarian, and Independence. Have one blanket primary for all four parties, and have the top vote getter in each party be that party’s nominee.
Liam, why do you assume the LP should be the fourth party? There are others, GP, CP, L&LP…
The basic problem isn’t the primaries. It’s plurality voting in the general election. If ranked choice or approval voting were used in the general election, it doesn’t matter how many parties or candidates that there are on the general election ballot.
Fairvote — one more DECEIT group — based just outside of Deceit City.
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NO primaries.
ONE Election Day.
PR and AppV [each pending Condorcet — RCV done correctly]
and TOTSOP.
J.R. Myers- really? Seriously? Alaska… CP? GP? Sheesh!
What evidence is there that when there is no incumbent for US Representative from Alaska that there will be 4 major party candidates with name recognition?
@J.R. Myers
Historical previous successes (the Libertarian Party has gotten a few state House reps elected in the past, more than at least 45 states can say), and the fact that the Libertarians are logistically ingrained in the election system through the Democratic-Libertarian-Independence combined primary.
And y’all if you have a partisan blanket primary with several republican and democratic candidates, voters are going to be drawn away from the minor parties. It already happens in states that have blanket primaries: California, Washington, Louisiana. Blanket primaries like that allow the major parties pretend to cater to the fringes by running multiple candidates.
All Alaska needs to do is include the Republicans in this combined Democratic-Libertarian-Independence Primary thing, and then use Ranked Choice Voting in the general election, and keeping those nominees partisan. Because making it “non-partisan” is pretending that people are non-partisan, and they’re not.
There has never been an open seat race for US Senator in Alaska. The last open House race was the 1973 special election after Nick Begich disappeared.
Alaska’s use of a blanket primary resulted in lots of candidates running even when there was an incumbent. Alaska election results have been pretty weird, and the primary results probably aren’t representative of the electorate.
Be careful what you wish for is coming to mind here. If this goes through, then Richard’s conclusion might just be the legal argument that ends primaries forever. Good riddance.
https://ballotpedia.org/Alaska_Ranked-Choice_Voting_Initiative_(2020)
http://www.elections.alaska.gov/petitions/19AKBE/19AKBE-TheBill.pdf
Init text
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Still nooo $$$ limit in 1 Amdt via 14-1 Amdt on States.
https://www.alaskansforbetterelections.com/
Sponsor — with lots of that *dark money* ???
http://www.iandrinstitute.org/
LAST Chance to save REAL Democracy ??? —
against the nonstop ANTI-Democracy minority rule monarch/oligarch schemes/machinations.
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REAL reforms –
ONE election Day
EQUAL nom pets
PR
AppV
TOTSOP
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ANY brain cells in New Age reformer brains ??? —
being distracted/brainwashed by top 2 primaries, RCV, donation limits, etc.
Richard, Quite some time ago I asked you to endorse PLAS. Now it has been expanded to Top Ten Plus PLAS. Will you consider endorsing Top Ten Plus PLAS?
“and only the top four could then appear on the November ballot.”
Well, that would probably mean two third party candidates would regularly make it ? right
See CA SOS election results — top 2 primary
— pct of gerrymander areas having DD or RR in general elections
IE could have mere DDDD or RRRR choices in general elections –
super ANTI-Democracy minority rule extremist party hacks.
Too many MATH MORONS to count doing New Age election ***reforms*** —
who are math clueless / brain dead about 3 or more choices math.
@Edward TJ Brown
You’d think, but it’s likely that the major parties will run multiple candidates, possibly two each, in order to shut out third parties completely during the general.
I had to look up “Top Ten Plus PLAS”. PLAS stands for Progressive Libertarian Alliance Strategy. In 2014 the plan expanded to include others, including literal NAZIs. 4 of the 7 posts on the front page of Robert Milnes’ blog contain anti-Semitic references.
I’m going to take a guess that Richard’s response to endorsing anything you are involved in will be a hard ‘no’.
@Liam,
It is offensive to suggest that parties run candidates. One runs cattle, not humans.
Richard Winger’s assertion that in Alaska for open seats there will be four or more major party candidates is untested. The last open House race was the special election in 1973 after Nick Begich disappeared. Don Young has held the seat ever since. There has never been an open Senate race.
It is unlikely that if the candidates for a party are Mark Mehburger, Nicky Nebulous, and Oscar Obscure, that their votes will coalesce to win an election. The party is better off with Stan Strong. Even if MNO run, there is still opportunity for Larry Libertarian, Greta Green, Inga Independence, or Carla Constitution. How many voters always vote for a Democrat when there are several running, but then switch to a Libertarian when there is only one?
According to Andy, Robert Milnes is a Republican operative running a high scale trolling/misinformation campaign out of his blog.
It would not surprise me if Milnes is being used as a patsy/pawn in some kind of sabotage operation, but I seriously doubt he is any kind of mastermind. I recall it came out that Milnes had a website that was put up by some Republican consultant. If Milnes is involved, he is likely just some mentally ill guy they recruited who they send in to minor parties in order to make those parties look crazy. I have heard that Milnes has not worked in years, so maybe they also pay him to troll online.
So “Egyptian God,” tell us what you’ve been up to since your days as a Libertarian Party State Chairman. Did they reassign you to online trolling and spying? Last I heard, you became inactive in the LP, and I think you moved to a Midwestern state, right? Do you work at one of those troll farms, or do they allow you to do your trolling from home? If you can do your trolling work at home, it must be nice to not have to do any commuting.
“he is likely just some mentally ill guy they recruited who they send in to minor parties in order to make those parties look crazy” does anyone else find this claim to be a little bit ironic
No irony at all.
Well, well, well. The gang’s all here….almost. New Federalist suggested I comment here. Andy got banned from IPR also, IIRC. And Ogle. Actually I often agreed with Andy.
Does paulie comment here too?
No I am not a republican operative. I created the PLAS strategy and The PLAS Place. With a little help in the good old days from Tom Knapp. Nobody is payin me nothin. I am as poor as dirt. But even dirt has a nugget or gemstone once in a while.
I would not be so quick to figure Richard will say no to me. We had many a long email thread back in the day. Not recently though.
My “troll farm” blog gets about 5-10 hits/day. But this past Friday it got 90. I figure they came from the Green party-checking me out.
Don’t you think if my blog was anti-Semitic WordPress would have shut it down by now?
I check out Robert’s webpage/blog and yeah, it is got some antisemitic posts on it.
No. Anti-Israel is not anti-Semitic. Further, anti jewish is not necessarily anti semitic.
Equate Israel with ISIS, which it is, then see how any discussion works out.
Actually, that is not why I am here commenting. I am trying to get support for Top Ten Plus PLAS. I am asking for Richard’s opinion, input and/or support.
Top Ten. Full or nearly full ballot access for the four significant third parties. Green 27%, Lib.13% Constitution 27%. Reform unknown/variable. Plus the two reactionary parties democratic 17% and republican 17%, which we know they always take care of themselves. That would cover the entire political spectrum bell curve. Plus four independent tickets unknown/variable which are unnecessary. This would provide ten tickets; every voter would have a compatible viable ticket to possibly win-except possibly the Libertarian; for debates also. PLAS would replace democrats with greens, republicans with libertarians. The PLAS fusion ticket would get about 40% of the vote resulting in 40/30/30 sweep.
The Alaska Top Four I do not know. I believe Top Four is unprecedented. My educated guess would be DDRR just about all the time. Because it does not address Duverger’s Law decisively.
Last I heard from Richard was that he was concerned about Top Two and rightly so. When I suggested PLAS as a possible remedy, he was non committal, so I gave up.
“anti jewish is not necessarily anti semitic” that’s literally the definition
You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.
Brandon Lyon, no it isn’t. Anti-jewish in a prejudicial or biased way would be anti-Semitic.
paulie in IPR comments tried to get support to get my blog suspended on various grounds. He failed.
Any website for ONLY registered trolls, agents, spies, etc. —
to rave about each other nonstop and NOT take up ANY time and space on BAN ???
Wow! Demo Rep you have little room to talk! Most of your posts are incomprehensible!
CL = one more troll/pre-skoool juvenile for that website ???
Crickets?