NOTN- The City and Borough of Juneau is weighing the potential adoption of ranked choice voting for its local elections, if approved it could be the first municipality in Alaska to do so.
The Juneau Assembly’s Committee of the Whole discussed the proposal during a meeting Monday night. While no changes will occur this election cycle, a public hearing is scheduled for Aug. 18 to gather feedback and continue discussions.
“It won’t be on the ballot for this year, but they’re going to have another public hearing about that on August 18, and then discuss it post election for next year” Said Deputy City Manager Robert Barr.
The proposed system would allow voters to rank candidates in order of preference rather than selecting only one.
If adopted, the change would apply to regular and general municipal elections in the capital city.
City officials said that the proposal remains in its early stages and implementation is not imminent.
Ranked choice voting is currently used in Alaska for state-level elections, following a 2020 ballot measure approved by voters. In the most recent election, Juneau voters rejected a statewide initiative that aimed to repeal the system.