The Juneau Assembly is slated to decide on Monday night whether Juneau should adopt a ranked choice voting system for municipal elections beginning next year.
Alaska already uses a ranked choice voting system for statewide elections. In local elections, Juneau voters currently choose one candidate in a single-seat race. With ranked choice voting, voters would instead rank candidates by preference.
If adopted on Monday, Juneau would become the first major city in Alaska to adopt ranked choice voting for municipal elections. But other cities across the U.S., including New York, San Francisco and Minneapolis, already use the system in local elections.
The Assembly was originally supposed to vote on the topic in August, but decided to delay the decision until after the fall local election. Assembly member Ella Adkison proposed the change. During a meeting earlier this summer, she said she thinks voters will support it.
“It really is good for races where there are lots of candidates in one seat,” she said. “And 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.”
But not everyone agrees. During public testimony on the topic this summer, Juneau resident Angela Rodell questioned why the change is necessary. Rodell unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2023 and led the Affordable Juneau Coalition in advocating for tax cuts this fall.
“At a time when public trust in our local election process is being tested, this ordinance does not move us towards greater transparency, confidence or affordability,” she said. “Instead, it is the opposite. It proposes a fundamental change to our voting process without first answering a critical question, ‘What is the problem we’re trying to solve with this?’”
According to data from the state’s Division of Elections, Juneau voters previously appeared to favor ranked choice voting. Juneau overwhelmingly voted against a repeal effort on the ballot last election, which only very narrowly failed statewide. Advocates have already filed new initiatives in an attempt to repeal it in the 2026 state election.
Juneau residents have the chance to testify on the ordinance in person or online before the Assembly votes on Monday. People who want to testify online must notify the city clerk by 4 p.m. before the meeting. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. at Centennial Hall.
