Re-democratizing Elections: Rank Choice Voting’s Impact on Political Culture and Governance

• In Event: Right-Wing Pressure on Minority Civil Liberties - Sponsored by the Division of International Criminology

Abstract

Since the emergence of Trumpism, a host of civil society actors have converged in defense of American democracy, championing rank choice voting (RCV) as an electoral reform that enhances civility and reduces polarization. This paper examines Alaska, the second state in the nation to implement rank choice voting (RCV), and asks how the reforms impact political culture and governance. Drawing on original interviews with elected officials and their staff during the first post-RCV Alaskan state legislative session, the analysis finds RCV expanded a vital center in governance but also sparked a backlash movement to repeal the reforms. Using the theoretical framework of frontlash/ backlash, this paper offers a dynamic account of the fraught and contentious nature of electoral reform and shows how, despite efforts to transcend hyper partisanship, RCV in Alaska has been dogged by partisan framing. The findings of this study have significance beyond Alaska as they point to broader risks to the democratic system—the polarization of democratic institutions themselves and the ascendance of constitutional politics. Long term prospects for electoral reform are considered in conversation with earlier progressive reform movements, the franchise, and national consolidation of backlash.

Author

• Emily B. Campbell, Rhode Island College