Ballot Measure 2 topic of Anchorage forum

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Alaska Common Ground on Sunday hosted a forum on Ballot Measure 2 at the Loussac Library in an effort to create civil discussion among Alaskan voters.

A vote of “yes” would repeal ranked-choice voting. A vote of “no” would keep ranked-choice voting in place.

Alaskans approved an initiative to establish ranked-choice voting in 2020, using it for the first time in 2022. Now, proponents of the ballot measure seek to reinstate partisan primary elections with a single-choice voting system.

The Alaska Common Ground mission statement addresses concern over polarization in Alaska and its communities. Forums like these are part of an effort to allow open discussion, said Dick Mylius, chair of Alaska Common Ground.

Mylius said he believes while many people have already made up their minds for this particular ballot measure, there are still uncertain voters.

“A lot of times people don’t really know the details of the ballot measures and so the more they learn, the more they’re likely to either vote yes or no,” Mylius said.

“We try to do them as neutral as we can, give everybody equal chance try to keep [it] as a civil discussion,” Mylius said. “Some have been in the past more exciting than others. We had one a few years ago when marijuana was on the ballot to legalize marijuana and we had a pretty rowdy crowd show up for that, but it was still a civil discussion.”

Click here for information on how to vote in Alaska.

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