Test Driving Ranked Choice Voting: These Not So United States (AK Part 2 & NV)

The Purple Principle

Alaska will soon be the first state in the country to hold a ranked choice voting election for all representatives, state and federal. But can RCV moderate our severely polarized politics?

If the August special election and current congressional campaign are any guide, the answer is a hearty, “Maybe.”

That’s according to Matt Buxton, editor of the Alaskan political blog The Midnight Sun and co-host of the Hello Alaska! podcast. TPP Reporter Dylan Nicholls interviewed Buxton just after the special election and again now in the run up to Election Day.

Dylan’s second guest, Doug Goodman, is the founder of Nevadans for Election Reform. Doug’s watching Alaska closely as his state goes to the polls on an election reform measure he originated years ago.

Will RCV come to pass in Nevada, as in Alaska? Are we on a path toward more moderate campaigns, at least in our most purple states?

Listen in to find out.

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SHOW NOTES

Our Guests

• Matt Buxton is editor of the Alaskan political blog The Midnight Sun and co-host of the politics podcast Hello Alaska! His writing has also been featured on the Anchorage Daily News, and he publishes The Midnight Sun Memo newsletter regularly on Substack. Find him on Twitter @mattbuxton.

• Doug Goodman is the founder and Executive Director of Nevadans for Election Reform, and has been working to bring Ranked Choice Voting to Nevada for almost a decade. He’s collaborating with the Yes on 3 campaign to build support for Nevada Question 3, which would bring ranked choice to the silver state if adopted.

More episode resources on our website:

https://fluentknowledge.com/shows/the-purple-principle/alaska-nevada

Original music by Ryan Adair Rooney

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