The lawsuit challenging ranked choice voting in Alaska was heard earlier this week. In late 2020, Scott Kohlhaas, The Alaskan Independence Party, and Robert Bird, through their attorney Kenneth Jacobus sued the state of Alaska in hopes to overturn the results of a voter referendum where ranked choice voting would be implemented in Alaska’s general elections. The lawsuit was brought forth to protect the rights to free political association, free speech, right to petition, right to due process, and other rights guaranteed by the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
Attorney Kenneth Jacobus addressed the situation on KSRM’s “The Bird’s Eye View”:
“Well we both made our arguments and it was reported in the Anchorage Daily News pretty accurately. The court took the case under advisement and we expect a decision, but we don’t know when it’s going to be. There is a definite interest in getting it out sooner rather than later so we’ll know what the rules for the next election will be. Also, so that the Supreme Court will have enough time to look at it because I think everybody thinks this is just one step on the way up to the Supreme Court, but the Trial Court is going to try to give a really well reasoned decision because that will be helpful to the Supreme Court.”
Jacobus said Proposition 2 is confusing:
“The Proposition 2 is kind of complicated. It does not allow the state to match people at the primary level, but it forces them to be matched at the general election level. Now, in the past, in 2014 and 2018, the parties have created their pairs by having the people run separately in the primary and the highest vote getter for the Republicans for governor would be the governor and the highest vote getter for the Republicans for Lieutenant Governor would be the Lieutenant Governor and you pair it up that way. The candidates may not know who they are going to be paired with, but at least they are going to be paired with somebody of the same political persuasion.”
Jacobus expects this case to go to the Alaska Supreme Court, but said he can’t predict the outcome of the lawsuit with either level of court. The Alaska Division of Elections reports that the first/next election that the Ranked Choice Voting system will be used will be the November 8, 2022 General Election. The first/next election for the nonpartisan top four primary is scheduled for August 16, 2022.
