Trump Called for Repeal in Alaska. But Measure 2 Goes Far Beyond Ranked Choice Voting.

President Donald Trump devoted several minutes of his Tuesday rally in Alaska attacking ranked choice voting. Calling it a “scam,” he urged Alaskans to vote YES on Ballot Measure 2 this November and “terminate it.”

But if Ballot Measure 2 passes, Alaskans wouldn’t just lose ranked choice voting. They’d lose the entire three-part election reform Alaskans adopted in 2020 and protected from repeal in 2024. A YES vote would eliminate:

1. The top-four open, all-candidate primary. Every Alaskan receives the same ballot and can support any candidate, regardless of party. The top four finishers advance to the general election.
2. The ranked choice general election. Voters have the option to rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, the last-place candidate is eliminated and voters’ next choices are counted. The process continues until someone wins a majority.
3. Dark money disclosure rules. Major political contributions must be traced to their true source, and political ads financed primarily with out-of-state money must disclose that fact.

So contrary to what the president said, Measure 2 is more than just a decision about ranked choice voting. It is also a decision about whether voters will retain the freedom to choose among every candidate, and whether Alaskans can see who is financing their elections. Both of those principles are massively popular.

Trump’s examples make the case for the system

The president’s own arguments illustrated the problems Alaska’s system was designed to fix.

For example, Trump warned that three Republicans running for governor could divide the Republican vote and help the lone Democrat win. He also highlighted the presence of two candidates named Dan Sullivan in the U.S. Senate race, suggesting the confusion voters could draw support from the Republican incumbent.

This “spoiler effect” threat is exactly what Alaska’s system helps mitigate against. A voter can rank all three Republican candidates in the governor’s race, and both Dan Sullivans in the Senate race. If their first choice is eliminated, their vote can transfer to their next choice.

At another point in the speech, Trump proposed a different solution to the crowded gubernatorial field: pressure other Republican candidates to leave the race so that his preferred candidate would, in his mind, have a better shot.

Again, that approach demonstrates exactly what Alaska’s reform was designed to change. When Alaskans adopted the system in 2020, they chose elections that put voters, not political parties, in charge of deciding which candidates advance.

To be clear, Alaska’s system does not prevent the president and political parties from endorsing candidates, nor does it prevent candidates from withdrawing. But it takes away the parties’ control over who reaches November. Every candidate competes before the same electorate, and voters have the final say in who advances.

That power shift is also reflected in who wants the system gone. Alongside Trump’s calls for repeal, Republican megadonors Elon Musk ($1.5M) and Jeff Yass ($675,000) both gave to a PAC supporting repeal.

The point is not that outside money exists on only one side. It is that Alaska’s disclosure rules allow voters to see who is spending that money. Measure 2 would repeal those safeguards, too.

Early evidence suggests the system is working

Alaska’s top-four elections have been used for only a few cycles, but the evidence so far is promising.

In the first election under the new system, a Unite America Institute report found a 58% increase in Alaskans casting a meaningful vote compared with 2020, before the reform took effect. Alaska also led the country in the share of voters casting ballots in competitive elections that helped determine the outcome.

Unite America Institute’s analysis of the 2026 elections found continued signs of strong participation and competition:

• Primary turnout exceeded 31%. A total of 166,992 Alaskans participated—nearly 60,000 more than in 2024 and well above the roughly 20% turnout typical of midterm party primaries nationally.
• More candidates ran, and fewer races were uncontested. Alaska had 117 candidates for 50 legislative seats, up from 104 in 2024. The share of races with at least 3 candidates increased from 26% to 38%, while unopposed races fell from 22% to 16%.
• Voters retained meaningful choices in November. Fourteen legislative contests feature candidates from the same party, ensuring that competition continues even where 1 party dominates. Twenty-seven independents ran for the legislature, nearly twice as many as in 2024.

What Measure 2 actually does

The effects extend beyond the ballot box. Bipartisan governing majorities continue to lead both chambers of the Alaska Legislature, creating space for lawmakers to work across party lines without constantly fearing punishment in a narrow party primary.

Alaska’s system is not perfect, and no election system can prevent every confusing candidacy or strategic maneuver. But the debate over Measure 2 should reflect what the measure would actually do.

Alaskans are not voting solely on whether to keep ranked choice voting. They are deciding whether every voter can continue supporting any candidate, whether political spending remains transparent and whether voters or parties control who advances.

President Trump told Alaskans to “terminate” ranked choice voting. Measure 2 would terminate far more.

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