The Alaska Supreme Court has decided whether the state's ballot summary for Ballot Measure 2 is biased. It upheld the Division of Elections' wording as "true and impartial" but ordered one sentence added.
Ballot Measure 2 would repeal ranked choice voting and Alaska's open primary, and it goes to voters in November 2026. The justices heard arguments on August 25 and ruled days later. Voters will now see the state's summary with one extra line about how candidates for governor and lieutenant governor would run.
Table of Contents
- What Ballot Measure 2 would change
- Who sued over the wording, and why
- How the courts ruled
- What the ruling means for November voters
- Frequently Asked Questions
What Ballot Measure 2 would change
Ballot Measure 2 appears on the ballot as 24ESEG. According to Alaska Public Media's report on the case, it would repeal ranked choice voting, end the nonpartisan open primary, and repeal the campaign disclosure rules voters adopted in 2020.
Ranked choice voting lets voters rank candidates in order of preference instead of picking just one. In Alaska's open primary, every candidate runs on one ballot whatever their party, and the top finishers move on to the general election. The measure would undo both at once, along with the disclosure rules.
Who sued over the wording, and why
The ballot summary is the short text the Division of Elections writes to describe a measure. two groups on opposite sides of ranked choice voting challenged it. The Alaska Beacon reported that one group is represented by attorney Scott Kendall, an author of the 2020 measure. That group argued the summary is unclear and partisan and leaves out serious effects of repeal.
The other challengers were the measure's own sponsors, the "Repeal Now" campaign. Its main sponsors include Republican candidate for governor Bernadette Wilson, former Anchorage library director Judy Eledge, and former state Rep. Ken McCarty of Eagle River. Both sides of the fight objected to the same text. That is a sign of how much weight each side places on the few sentences voters will read.
How the courts ruled
In June 2026, a Superior Court sided with the Division of Elections and found the summary "true and impartial." The challengers appealed, and the supreme Court heard arguments on August 25. The Anchorage Daily News reported that the high court upheld that finding, so the summary mostly stands.
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The court ordered one change. The summary must say that if the measure passes and open primaries end, candidates for governor and lieutenant governor would once again run separately.
What the ruling means for November voters
Voters will read the Division's summary with the new sentence about governor and lieutenant governor races. The Alaska Watchman noted that the summary a voter reads can shape how they understand a change to the whole election system. Repeal Now did not get the wording it wanted.
After the ruling, the campaign warned publicly that the ballot language is still deceptive. Expect both campaigns to push their own version of what the measure does before Election Day. Before you vote, you can:.
- Read the full summary for 24ESEG in your official election materials.
- Check which systems the measure repeals: ranked choice voting, the open primary, and the 2020 disclosure rules.
- Note the added line: governor and lieutenant governor candidates would run separately again if the measure passes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the ballot summary still change before November?
The Supreme Court's ruling settles the challenge. Voters will see the Division's summary plus the court-ordered sentence.
Who wrote the 2020 system that Measure 2 would repeal?
Attorney Scott Kendall, who represented one of the groups challenging the wording, is one of the authors of the 2020 measure.
Which court ruled first?
A Superior Court ruled in June 2026 that the summary was "true and impartial." The Supreme Court upheld that finding.
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