Takeaways from Alaska's open primary: 357K independents had the right to vote; more general election competition

Because of Alaska’s open primary system, nearly 357,000 independent voters in the state - about 60% of the electorate - had the right to participate in Tuesday’s primaries. Alaska’s system also produced significant general election competition, according to a Unite America analysis. The general election for its lone U.S. House seat and about two-thirds (64%) of races for state legislature seats will feature more options than just one Republican and one Democrat this November. In the system Alaska had prior to 2022, voters would have been limited to two candidates - one from each party’s primary.

Alaska uses an open primary, where every candidate appears on one ballot and every eligible voter can participate. In Alaska’s system, which voters narrowly approved with 50.6% in 2020, the top four finishers advance to the general election, regardless of party. The general election is decided by an instant runoff, ensuring a majority winner.

Nick Troiano, Unite America Executive Director and author of The Primary Solution, issued the following statement:

“Two simple but powerful things are true about Alaska’s elections: Every eligible voter has the freedom to vote for any candidate, regardless of party, in every taxpayer-funded election; and candidates have to win a majority of the vote to take office in November.

“While some politicians oppose open primaries because they actually have to compete to win elections, we know voters across the political spectrum like it - not only in Alaska, but wherever they’re used. In fact, voters like it so much that more than 1.4 million of them in six states have signed petitions to qualify open primary initiatives for this November’s ballot.”

Research from Unite America Institute and the right-leaning think tank R Street finds that open primaries open up the most consequential elections to all voters, increase competition, and incentivizes candidates to appeal to a broader cross-section of the electorate. 

Voter-led initiatives to open or abolish party primaries are already on the ballot in Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, and South Dakota, and Washington, D.C. Similar initiatives in Montana and Colorado are on track to qualify in the coming weeks. According to Ballotpedia, there has never been more than three election-related ballot initiatives in any year since the early 1900s.