Politics
Ranked-choice voting under scrutiny in Alaska's Senate race
A federal judge dismissed a Trump administration lawsuit over certifying Alaska's Senate results, and the Justice Department says it will appeal.
The short version
- Ranked-choice ballots let voters rank candidates, moving votes to later choices if no one wins a majority.[Al Jazeera]
- Only Alaska and Maine use the system statewide; Maine adopted it in 2016 and Alaska voters approved it in 2020.[Al Jazeera]
- A federal judge dismissed a Trump administration lawsuit that sought to block certifying Alaska's Senate results if Republican incumbent Dan S. Sullivan loses.[CBS News]
- The next step is the Justice Department's promised appeal, while a 2025 study cited 4.8 percent of ranked-choice ballots as improperly marked.[CBS News · Al Jazeera]
Key facts
- Only Alaska and Maine use ranked-choice voting throughout their territory.[Al Jazeera]
- Ranked-choice ballots let voters rank candidates, and a vote can move to the second choice if the first choice does not win a majority.[Al Jazeera]
- A 2025 study in the journal Political Behavior cited data indicating 4.8 percent of ranked-choice ballots are improperly marked, though not all of those ballots are invalidated.[Al Jazeera]
- Maine adopted ranked-choice voting in 2016 and first used it in congressional elections in 2018.[Al Jazeera]
- Alaska voters approved ranked-choice voting through a 2020 ballot initiative.[Al Jazeera]
- The Trump administration filed a lawsuit seeking to block Alaska election officials from certifying the Senate results if incumbent Republican Dan S. Sullivan loses.[CBS News]
- A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit, finding the federal government did not have the legal right to sue.[CBS News]
- The Justice Department has said it will appeal the dismissal.[CBS News]
What remains uncertain
- Whether the Justice Department's appeal will succeed is unknown; the department has only said it will appeal.[CBS News]
- The 4.8 percent improper-marking figure comes from one 2025 study, and the study says not all such ballots are invalidated.[Al Jazeera]
Sources
Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.