‘Palin Was Most Offensive To The Most Voters’: Defenders of Rank Choice Voting Speak Out After GOP Calls Alaska Election Loss a ‘Scam’

Alex GriffingSep 1st, 2022, 5:20 pm
 

Sarah Palin at Trump Rally in Alaska

Many on the right and in the GOP denounced ranked choice voting on Wednesday night and well into Thursday after the voting system led to Alaska electing a Democrat to its open statewide House seat – a surprise defeat for former Gov. Sarah Palin.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) led a chorus of angry condemnation of ranked choice voting, which Alaskan voters approved in 2020 as many races in the state are only contested by Republicans.

Cotton tweeted, “Ranked-choice voting is a scam to rig elections. 60 percent of Alaska voters voted for a Republican, but thanks to a convoluted process and ballot exhaustion — which disenfranchises voters — a Democrat ‘won.'”

Recently polling out of Alaska found that 85 percent of voters found the process “simple” and two weeks after the vote 62 percent of Alaskans polled still support the system.

Ranked choice voting begins with an open primary in which the top 4 candidates advance to the general election.

“Then, in the general election, instead of just voting for one of the top four candidates, voters rank their preferences in order. They are allowed to rank candidates one through four, but are not required to do so — voters could instead choose only to rank their preferred candidate, or only rank their top two.

If no candidate receives more than 50% of the first-place votes, then the ranked-choice system is used to determine the winner,” explained CNN on the process.

While Cotton dubbed the system a “scam,” many of its supporters point to the system as consensus building and more democratic as the winning candidate must pass the 50 percent threshold.

Former GOP Congressman Justin Amash defended the system on Twitter, arguing, “The problem for the Republican Party in Alaska wasn’t ranked-choice voting; it was their candidates. Requiring a candidate to get more than 50% to be elected isn’t a scam; it’s sensible. Let’s get ranked-choice voting everywhere.”

Democracy advocate Mindy Finn noted, “Ranked choice, or instant runoff, doesn’t favor one party; it gives voters confidence that choosing the candidate they like the most won’t elect the candidate they like the least a.k.a. the spoiler effect. In this case, it appears Palin was most offensive to the most voters.”

Scott Santens added, “Ranked-choice voting helps elect candidates that a wider percentage of voters actually prefer. This makes it harder for polarizing candidates to win, and also harder for negative campaigning to win. Most voters simply don’t like extremist candidates and prefer the not-Palins.”

Other observers took on Cotton directly. Journalist Kara Swisher wrote, “He cannot be this stupid by accident. It’s on purpose. The second choice of Republicans who voted for Begich was not Trump endorsed Palin, but the Democratic candidate or, um, no one. Let that sink in.”

Author Keith Boykin tried to turn the tables on Cotton and blasted the Electoral College, “Actually, Tom Cotton, the Electoral College is the scam that rigs elections. Democrats have won the popular vote in 7 of the last 8 presidential elections, but because of the electoral college, Republicans got to be president twice in 20 years against the will of the people.”

Former Clinton advisers Zac Petkanas offered a similar sentiment, “Really love seeing all the staunch defenders of the Electoral College trash Rank Choice Voting as complicated and undemocratic.”

Pundit S.E. Cupp added, “Alaska voted for it in 2020. States rights are only cool if they work in your favor though, right? Otherwise: “SCAM!””

Below are some more defenses of ranked choice voting:

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Alex Griffing - Senior Editor

Alex Griffing is a Senior Editor at Mediaite. Send tips via email: alexanderg@mediaite.com. Follow him on Twitter: @alexgriffing