Alaska Voters Defend Democracy Wins Against Cynical Rollback Attempt
Voters just told the political establishment a better democracy is here to stay
In 2020, Alaskans embraced Ranked Choice Voting and open primaries, a historic change that reshaped politics to better reflect voter preferences.
By 2023, these successful reforms had come under attack from the political establishment, who viewed them as a threat to their control.
Yet, Alaskans stood firm in the 2024 election against this blatant power grab, narrowly defeating a repeal effort by fewer than 700 votes.
Local Leadership
The Campaign to Expand & Protect Voter Power
In 2020, Alaska became the first state to implement Ranked Choice Voting and open primaries, a system that quickly proved its efficacy by electing a politically diverse group of leaders and fostering bipartisan majorities in the state legislature on a single ballot.
In 2023, efforts to reverse these reforms by the political establishment threatened to undo this progress. In response, RepresentUs led a strategic campaign to defend these changes by educating voters and mobilizing support.
115,000 texts & phone calls to 81,000 voters
As the election approached, it became evident that the “No On 2” campaign had exhausted its resources on media advertising, leaving no capacity for direct voter contact. RepresentUs filled this critical gap by coordinating with the campaign to target 81,000 voters. Our team sent over 115,000 texts and phone calls, leveraging an Alaska area code to ensure our message resonated locally.
$120,000 invested in video and educational content
We created dozens of pieces of bite-sized content optimized for spreading our message on social media. This $120,000 investment provided authentic, compelling content that became a cornerstone of the “No On 2” campaign’s messaging efforts.
Established & trusted presence
RepresentUs was part of the original coalition that brought Ranked Choice Voting and open primaries to Alaska, and we have proudly helped defend these critical reforms since the beginning. We leveraged this deep knowledge and our on-the-ground relationships to identify and fill strategic gaps.
The Impact
Defeating this repeal was a victory for Alaskans—and for democracy.
These changes collectively improved Alaska’s democratic process, making it fairer, more transparent, and more representative. And this narrow defeat of the repeal effort cemented these reforms, showing strong public support for a clearer and more representative electoral system.
Real change starts locally. Fixing our broken system begins with city and state victories that spark national momentum. It’s the blueprint of every major movement—women’s suffrage, marriage equality, interracial marriage.
Wins like this in Alaska pave the way for transformative, nationwide progress in 2025 and beyond.