Primary elections in Alaska
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Primary elections allow voters to determine which candidates compete in the general election and can be nonpartisan or partisan. In partisan primaries, voters choose the candidates they prefer for a political party to nominate in the general election.
The laws governing primary elections vary from state to state and can even vary within states by locality and political party. For example, only registered party members are allowed to vote inclosed primaries, while registered party members and unaffiliated voters are allowed to vote insemi-closed primaries, and all voters are allowed to vote inopen primaries.
Primary elections also vary by the way their outcomes are determined.Majority systems require the winning candidate to receive at least fifty percent of the votes cast, whileplurality systems do not. Intop-two primaries,top-four primaries, andblanket primaries, all candidates are listed on the same ballot, regardless of partisan affiliation.
See the sections below for general information on the use of primary elections in the United States and specific information on the types of primaries held in Alaska:
- BackgroundThe different types of primary election participation models used in the United States, and details about methods to determine the outcomes of primaries.Read more
- Primary election systems used in AlaskaPrimary election systems used in Alaska, including primaries for congressional and state-level offices.Read more
- State legislation and ballot measuresState legislation and ballot measures relevant to primary election policy in Alaska.Read more
Background
In general, there are two broad criteria by which primary elections can vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction:
1.Rules of participation: In jurisdictions that conduct partisan primaries, who can vote in a party's primary? Is participation limited to registered party members, or can other eligible voters (such as unaffiliated voters or voters belonging to other parties) participate? In general, there are three basic types of primary election participation models:open primaries,closed primaries, andsemi-closed primaries. Several states also use atop-two primary or a variant of that system.
- Inclosed primaries only registered party members are allowed to vote.
- Insemi-closed primaries, registered party members and unaffiliated voters are allowed to vote.
- Inopen primaries, all voters are allowed to vote.
- Intop-two primaries,top-four primaries, andblanket primaries, all candidates are listed on the same ballot, regardless of partisan affiliation and voters may vote for candidates from more than one party.
2.Vote requirements: What share of the total votes cast does a candidate have to receive in order to advance to the general election? Methods for determining primary election outcomes includeplurality voting systems ansmajority voting systems. Two states, California and Washington, usetop-two primaries, while one, Alaska, uses atop-four primary. Both are plurality systems. Maine useranked-choice voting for some primaries, which is a majority system.
Primary election systems used in Alaska
Congressional and state-level elections
On November 3 2020, Alaska voters approved aballot initiative establishing a top-four primary for state executive, state legislative, and congressional elections. The initiative also established ranked-choice voting for general elections for the aforementioned offices and the presidency. Under Alaska's top-four primary system, all candidates for a given office run in a single primary election. The top four vote-getters, regardless of partisan affiliation, then advance to the general election.[1][2] In general elections, voters rank the four candidates that advanced from the primaries. A candidate needs a simple majority of the vote (50 percent + 1) to be declared the winner of an election. If no candidate wins a simple majority of votes cast, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated from the running. Voters who selected that candidate as their first choice have their votes redistributed to their second choices. The tabulation process continues in rounds until a candidate receives a simple majority.[1]
In 23 states, at least one political party utilizes closed primaries to nominate partisan candidates for congressional and state-level (e.g. state legislators, governors, etc.) offices. In 18 states, at least one party utilizes open primaries to nominate partisan candidates for these offices. In 12 states, at least one party utilizes semi-closed primaries. In 5 states, top-two primaries or a variation are used.[3] These state primaries are a separate entity and are not included in the totals for open, closed, or semi-closed primaries.
State legislation and ballot measures
Recent legislation related to primary elections in Alaska
The table below lists bills related to primary elections that have been introduced during (or carried over to) the current legislative session in Alaska. The following information is included for each bill:
- State
- Bill number
- Official bill name or caption
- Most recent action date
- Legislative status
- Sponsor party
- Topics dealt with by the bill
Bills are organized by most recent action. The table displays up to 100 results. To view more bills, use the arrows in the upper-right corner. Clicking on a bill will open its page onBallotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker, which includes bill details and a summary.
Primary systems ballot measures
Since 2017, Ballotpedia has tracked the following ballot measure(s) relating to primary elections in Alaska.
Noteworthy events
2021: State court upholds constitutionality of new top-four primary and ranked-choice voting general election systems
On December 1, 2020, the Alaskan Independence Party, Scott Kohlhaas, Robert M. Bird, and Kenneth P. Jacobus filed suit over Ballot Measure 2, which paired a top-four primary election with a ranked-choice voting general election for statewide offices, the legislature, and Congress. The plaintiffs alleged that Ballot Measure 2 "violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution because it denies plaintiffs their rights of free political association, political expression, free speech, free assembly, and to petition the government for redress of grievances."[4] The plaintiffs also said that Ballot Measure 2 violated Article I of the state constitution "because it withholds political power from the people, and denies plaintiffs the right to this political power, and to free speech, to assemble, to petition the government for redress of grievances, and to privacy." The plaintiffs asked that the court declare the new primary and electoral systems unconstitutional and block their use in the 2022 election cycle.[4]
On July 29, 2021, Alaska Superior Court JudgeGregory Miller upheld the constitutionality of Alaska's new primary and electoral systems. Miller dismissed the plaintiffs' argument that Ballot Measure 2 infringed on political parties' rights to free association:[5]
| “ | [The] U.S. Supreme Court in Washington State Grange specifically held that states have the right to adopt various election methods, that 'freedom to associate' carries with it the equal right to not associate, and that political parties do not have the constitutional right to force states to run the parties' nominating process.[6] | ” |
Miller also rejected the plaintiffs' argument that Ballot Measure 2 contradicted Article III, Section 3, of the state constitution, which says "the candidate receiving the greatest number of votes shall be governor." Miller said, "Plaintiffs never quote the new law's language and then compare it to the constitutional language, above. They simply make the argument in a vacuum." Miller wrote, "[This] court is finding that Plaintiffs have not met their burden of showing that any part of the new law is unconstitutional on its face."[5]
The decision was ultimately appealed to the Supreme Court of Alaska, which, on January 19, 2022, affirmed Miller's July 29, 2021, ruling.[7][8]
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See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑1.01.1Alaska Division of Elections, "Alaska's Better Elections Initiative," accessed October 15, 2025
- ↑The Alaska Legislature, "Alaska Stat. § 15.25.010," accessed October 15, 2025
- ↑Top-two primary systems, such as those utilized inCalifornia,Nebraska, andWashington, and variations of those systems, such as thetop-four system used inAlaska and themajority-vote system used inLouisiana, are sometimes classified as open primary systems because voter participation in such primaries is not tied to partisan affiliation. For the purposes of this article, these primaries are considered to be a separate entity. For more information about top-two primaries and their variations, seethis article.
- ↑4.04.1Alaska Superior Court – Third Judicial District at Anchorage, "Kohlhaas v. Alaska: Complaint for Declaratory, Injunctive, and Other Relief," December 1, 2021
- ↑5.05.1Alaska Superior Court – Third Judicial District at Anchorage, "Kohlhaas v. Alaska: Order Re: All Pending Motions," July 29, 2021
- ↑Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑Alaska's News Source, "Anchorage judge upholds ranked-choice voting system," July 29, 2021
- ↑Supreme Court of Alaska, "Kohlhaas v. Alaska: Order," January 19, 2022
