The Juneau Assembly decided on Monday to delay voting on whether to adopt a ranked choice voting system for municipal elections beginning in 2026.
Instead of voting on the ordinance at the Assembly’s next regular meeting later this month, members decided to push back the vote until November — after this fall’s Oct. 7 municipal election. They’ll still hold public testimony on the topic on Aug. 18.
Ranked choice allows voters to rank candidates by preference, instead of just choosing one. Alaska has used it for statewide elections since 2022, though there have been attempts to repeal it.
Assembly member Ella Adkison proposed the local ordinance earlier this summer and advocated for its adoption at the meeting. She said the system aligns with Juneau’s values and it will encourage more people to run for local office.
“It really is good for races where there are lots of candidates in one seat,” she said, “I think Juneau, in general, likes having lots of candidates in races, because it means that the person that they feel represents them the most is the person who actually gets onto the Assembly.”
The topic received some pushback from residents at a meeting last week, as well as some support. A few testifiers questioned the need for the change, and argued that the decision on whether to adopt it should be up to voters — not the Assembly.
It’s already too late for the system to be implemented for this October’s municipal election, but Assembly members worried that adopting it now might confuse voters anyway. Assembly member Alicia Hughes-Skandijs said she supports ranked choice voting, but wants to wait until there’s less going on.
“My spidey senses feel like there is just a lot in motion, and there’s a lot on the ballot, and this just feels like too much change and is going to get lost in the noise — I wouldn’t want that,” she said.
If the system is approved, Juneau would become the first major city in Alaska to adopt ranked choice voting for municipal elections.
