The 2022 state elections in Alaska will be with us for a little while longer, with the final counts expected Nov. 23, following the tabulation of the rest of early and absentee votes Nov, 15. and Nov. 18, according to the state Division of Elections.

My main thought today is that the ranked choice voting system that Alaskans dealt with this week was a positive step for Alaska and that the negative consequences claimed by right-wing zealots did not come to pass. This is an early test of a new approach that will take time to be regarded as normal.

The ballot was not hard to understand and the level of confusion has declined markedly since the special U.S. House election in the summer served as an introduction.

Ranked Choice Voting is a noble experiment, one that should be allowed to survive. I’m happy to see that the state House and Senate legislative races will improve the chances that the system will survive for the 2024 elections.

The narrow margins that separate the two parties in each House will make it far more difficult to just dump the system and overturn the will of the voters as expressed in the 2020 ballot proposition.

Political extremists in the Republican Party don't like it, but there are those in the GOP who can see the benefits of trying new methods to create a more workable government for Alaska. The system does not help zealots in either party, which is why they oppose it. In Alaska, the opposition is mostly from GOP zealots.

Alaskans interested in improving public policy will see that there is real merit in the assertion that ranked choice voting favors candidates who try to appeal to more than a narrow special interest.

The system needs to survive to see the full impact on how the new political realities in Alaska will change candidate recruitment in 2024 and encourage those who can manage to appeal to voters who realize that compromise is necessary to get anything done.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who is likely to win reelection, opposes ranked choice voting and can be expected to back legislative efforts to overturn the initiative. But Dunleavy has a history of not trying very hard to get the Legislature to do anything.

He has also tried to hide his opposition to ranked choice, just as he has hid his position on other key issues by not answering questions directly.

Meanwhile, other states and local governments are also trying ranked choice. Nevada may take a step toward joining Alaska and Maine, based on Tuesday’s vote.

“Ranked choice voting was on the ballot in nearly a dozen jurisdictions – in cities, counties and states. While it didn’t pass everywhere, it did pave the way for a significant increase in the number of people who may use alternative voting methods in future elections,” the website fulcrum.us reported.

"Ranked choice voting this week again showed why it's the fastest-growing nonpartisan voting reform in the country,” Rob Richie, president and CEO of FairVote, which advocates for RCV, told the website.

“The ballot measure that would move Nevada to open primaries with a ‘top five’ ranked-choice general election remained undecided as of Wednesday morning. With 72 percent of ballots counted, 52 percent of voters favored the proposal. If the proposal passes, Nevada would become the third state – after Alaska and Maine – to implement ranked-choice voting for state and federal races (although not presidential contests). Even if the initiative passes, it would not be implemented yet. Nevada requires a second approval, which would be on the ballot in 2024 and that would pave the way for implementation in 2026,” the Fulcrum reported.

Sarah Palin thinks she has won the election

Sarah Palin probably lost the election to Rep. Mary Peltola, but she recorded a video Tuesday night claiming she thinks she won the election, so she named a chief of staff. She posted the video on social media Wednesday afternoon.

“In anticipation of announcement of victory, being able to and it’s a privilege to announce and appoint Jerry Ward as chief of staff. And he will be one who is the contact person, the one who answers some of your questions, if I’m not able to get to all of your questions. So with Jerry Ward’s help. . . We are ready to get to work for Alaska. It’s what we started out doing back in April. We are now able to just allow a lot of our efforts to come to fruition for the state of Alaska.”

If nearly everyone who voted for Nick Begich the Third voted for Palin as a second choice, she might have an outside chance to win. Begich is in third place.

The problem is that Begich and Palin attacked each other throughout the campaign, exchanging so many insults that there was no real attempt to recruit second choice votes. Their “rank the red” claims sounded more than a little insincere, given the level of vitriol. It’s just possible that calling the other person a complete loser and then asking voters to cast a ballot for that complete loser might not get you all the second-choice votes you need.

Plus, there are many Alaskans, including Begich backers, who would never vote for Palin because she quit the governor’s office in 2009, claiming it was for the good of the state.

Another way of looking at this is that Palin knows she stands no real chance of winning and wants to be done with the campaign, turning it all over to her Ward, a former legislator who has had many ups and downs during his career.

Ward later told the Anchorage Daily News that his alleged appointment as chief of staff had not taken effect.

“If she doesn’t win, all this goes away,” Ward said.

Ranked Choice Voting, which worked well in Alaska, deserves to survive