‘Convoluted’ Special Election Appears to Have Helped Dem Beat Sarah Palin, Republicans Could Take the Seat Back in November in Uphill Landscape

Democrat Mary Peltola has been declared the winner in the Alaska at-large House seat, defeating Republican Sarah Palin after what U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) deemed a “convoluted” process.

In 2020, Alaska voters passed a measure that general elections would henceforth be held with ranked choice voting.

The measure passed at the time with a 1.1% margin, barely squeaking by with less than 4,000 votes separating the no and yes out of nearly 355,000 votes.

Election expert Dave Wasserman said in a tweet following last night’s results, “If I’m reading the blurry screen correctly, Peltola (D) was aided by a huge ‘exhaustion’ rate among [Republican Nick] Begich voters.”

“Begich’s ballots broke down: Palin (R) 50.3% Peltola (D) 28.8% No second choice (exhaust): 20.9%,” Wasserman reported.

Wasserman then added his own opinion as he said that “In the end, Palin was so disliked #AKAL wasn’t even that close.”

If I'm reading the blurry screen correctly, Peltola (D) was aided by a huge "exhaustion" rate among Begich voters. Begich's ballots broke down:

Palin (R) 50.3%
Peltola (D) 28.8%
No second choice (exhaust): 20.9%

In the end, Palin was so disliked #AKAL wasn't even that close.

— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) September 1, 2022

Cotton didn’t mince words when describing the situation that occurred in Alaska in a pair of tweets earlier.

“Ranked-choice voting is a scam to rig elections,” Cotton declared initially.

Cotton then explained, “60% of Alaska voters voted for a Republican, but thanks to a convoluted process and ballot exhaustion—which disenfranchises voters—a Democrat ‘won.'”

60% of Alaska voters voted for a Republican, but thanks to a convoluted process and ballot exhaustion—which disenfranchises voters—a Democrat "won."

— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) September 1, 2022

“Ranked-choice voting after jungle primaries robs voters of a clear electoral choice. Billionaires tried to bring this scheme to Arkansas, but thankfully they lost,” Cotton pointed out in a later tweet.

Cotton added, “In this system, if you fail to rank all candidates–and many voters would, as they’ve been voting for one candidate for decades–your ballot will effectively be thrown out during the elimination process.”

In this system, if you fail to rank all candidates–and many voters would, as they've been voting for one candidate for decades–your ballot will effectively be thrown out during the elimination process. pic.twitter.com/BMcQltoQ4F

— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) September 1, 2022