The Independent View: Alaska Top-Two Primary Bill

Thanks to Richard Winger of Ballot Access News for this post.

Alaska Representatives Max Gruenberg (D-Anchorage) and Scott Kawasaki (D-Fairbanks) have introduced HB 77, to provide for a top-two election system for state office and congress.

Because parties would no longer have nominees (except for president) the bill deletes the vote test for a party to become or remain ballot-qualified, but retains the alternative registration test.

The bill says that anyone who doesn’t qualify for the general election ballot may file as a declared write-in candidate for the November election, even if that person ran in the primary and didn’t place first or second.

The bill also lets candidates choose any party label. The label can be the name of a qualified party, or it can be the name of a “political group.” “Political group” is defined in Alaska law as “a group of organized voters which represents a political program and which does not qualify as a political party.” There are no numerical or organization requirements to be a political group, so in essence a candidate could choose any label, and the label need have no connection with how the candidate is registered to vote.

The bill’s provision for electing a Lieutenant Governor is awkward. Unlike the other top-two states (Louisiana, Washington, and California), Alaska elects a Lieutenant Governor jointly with the Governor in November. However, in the Alaska primary, the offices are voted on separately.

HB 77 says the gubernatorial candidate who places first in the primary may choose, as a Lieutenant Governor running mate, either the person who came in first, or the person who came in second, in the primary.

Then, the gubernatorial candidate who placed second in the primary must run with the Lieutenant Governor candidate who placed either first or second but who was not chosen by the other gubernatorial candidate.

This could force the gubernatorial candidate who had placed second in the primary to run with someone from an opposing party. For example, if in the gubernatorial primary a Republican placed first and a Democrat placed second, but in the Lieutenant Governor primary two Republicans placed first and second, then the Democratic gubernatorial candidate would be forced to run with a Republican Lieutenant Governor candidate.

From the Bill's Sponsor Statement:

House Bill 77 would establish a nonpartisan blanket primary election in Alaska. Under this system, voters could cast their ballots for any candidate running for office in a primary election, and the top two vote getters, regardless of party, would advance to the general election.

HB 77 would give voters more freedom at the ballot box since their choices will not be restricted to their party affiliation. Voters could cast their ballots in support of the best, most qualified candidate, not just those that identify with a particular political party.

CLICK HERE to read the full statement (PDF).