The Alaska Supreme Court permits the possibility of a popular vote to overturn a contentious electoral system.

The Alaska Supreme Court ruled on Thursday to permit a question about repealing the state's contentious ranked choice voting system to be included on the November ballot.

The high court upheld the lower court's decision to allow the ballot measure to be voted on by the public.

In their ruling, the judges affirmed the summary judgment order of the superior court after considering the record, the parties' briefs, and their arguments.

"A statement regarding the decision will be made public at a later time."

Elizabeth Medicine Crow and three other Alaska residents filed a case to disqualify the measure due to allegedly flawed petitions.

In March, Alaska's Division of Elections verified that enough signatures had been gathered to qualify the repeal initiative after the agency permitted petitioners to correct notarized mistakes in their documents.

In 2020, Alaska voters approved ranked choice voting with a 50.55% majority.

The practice of using a multi-round counting system in election tabulation is praised as a way to moderate candidates.

The candidate with the least number of "first votes" is eliminated, and their "second votes" are added to the totals of the remaining candidates until a winner is decided.

In 2022, Alaska Republicans criticized the practice after Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, won an upset in the red state, succeeding six-decade GOP lawmaker Don Young, who died at 88.

In the first round of tabulation, former Gov. Sarah Palin and Nick Begich III, the conservative scion of a noted Democratic political family in the state, together received more votes than Peltola, but still fell short.

Kelly Tshibaka, who lost to Sen. Lisa Murkowski in 2022, previously criticized ranked-choice voting as a "moderating force" when in her view, it is not.

Al Gross, a Democrat turned Independent, led in the primary at times but ultimately dropped out, leaving Peltola on his left to continue.

Meanwhile, proponents argue the practice helps take partisanship out of elections.

In 2022, both conservative Gov. Mike Dunleavy and moderate Sen. Lisa Murkowski won their elections in Alaska.

In 2021, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and states like Maine praised ranked choice voting after its successful implementation in their respective cities.

Critics, including Judy Eledge, a former schoolteacher in Utqiagvik, have criticized ranked choice voting.

Eledge stated in a recent Planet Chronicle Digital interview that not getting your first choice of who wins often allows people who would never win anything to succeed.

"The party system within the state is destroyed by the elections when it gives them enough to win."

The business community receives objective, nonpartisan political information from Virginia Free, an organization led by former Virginia State Delegate Chris Saxman.

The former Staunton lawmaker stated in a recent interview with Planet Chronicle Digital that Virginia Republicans employed ranked choice voting in their 2021 convention candidate selection process and regained the governorship after a ten-year absence.

Youngkin's moderate Republican supporters could have been targeted more aggressively by the right wing, but the consultant at the party function advised against it to avoid alienating voters.

Saxman responded, "Is it not a problem to attack a fellow Republican?"

The 2024 general election in Alaska will continue to use ranked choice voting.

The four politicians, Peltola, Murkowski, Dunleavy, and Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, were contacted by Planet Chronicle Digital for their comment.