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Ranked choice voting and the love-hate relationship both Democrats and Republicans have with it

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Ranked choice voting and the love-hate relationship both Democrats and Republicans have with it

Depending on who you ask, ranked choice voting can either reward extreme and wealthy candidates in elections or lead to a more publicly-palatable electoral process and encourage voter engagement.

The practice has grown in prevalence in recent elections – particularly in Alaska and Maine, plus Virginia, to some extent – entailing a hierarchical approach to election tallies. Several rounds of tabulation occur after voters are asked at the polls to choose their candidates in order of preference.

In the first round, totals for each candidate are tabulated, and the candidate with the fewest “first votes” is eliminated, and the “second votes” of that candidate’s supporters are added to the totals of the remaining candidates until a winner is decided.

A Republican former Alaska U.S. Senate candidate fell on the side of RCV critics, while a Republican former state lawmaker in Virginia credited it with leading to a political shakeup in his state. Democrats appeared similarly divided.

Democrats in Maine and New York have praised the system, while one Democratic governor appeared to throw up a potential roadblock in the way of his state’s implementation. He later stated that he would support the will of the people in a forthcoming ballot measure.

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ALASKA SUES FEDS OVER ‘KNOWINGLY’ POLLUTED NATIVE LANDS

A ballot drop box in Atlantic City (AP)

Ballot measures implementing or banning RCV will appear in Oregon, Alaska, Nevada, Missouri and Colorado. Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Kentucky also have pre-emptively banned RCV.

Former Virginia State Del. Chris Saxman, a Staunton Republican who is now executive director at the free-enterprise non-profit Virginia Free, told Fox News Digital that RCV worked in the selective way it was implemented in his state.

During the 2021 gubernatorial sweeps, Virginia Republicans utilized RCV in their primary candidate selection process, which led to Glenn Youngkin winning the nomination.

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Virginia Republicans voted to hold a convention rather than a primary that year.

After Youngkin was selected, Saxman told Fox News Digital, a consultant approached him at the convention to complain that supporters of perceptibly more conservative candidates had been stymied from attacking the nominee.

GAS CRISIS: ALASKA GOVERNOR SAYS ‘BIDEN IS SEARCHING FOR OIL ANYWHERE ON THE PLANET EXCEPT AT HOME’

“If it wasn’t for this damned ranked choice voting, we could have gone after Youngkin harder, but we couldn’t afford to alienate his voters,” the consultant complained, according to Saxman.

“I was like, ‘So, it’s a problem not to attack a fellow Republican?’,” he said, citing former President Reagan’s noted rule.

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Saxman said that situation showed there is value in nuanced reforms to elections like the way the party utilized RCV.

“Complex systems reward small change,” he said, going on to claim that because of the surgical way Virginia Republicans implemented RCV, it led to a political earthquake that November.

Saxman noted the GOP had been out of power in Richmond since the Bush era, but now, suddenly, Youngkin, Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears and Attorney General Jason Miyares supplanted the Democratic establishment.

Saxman said national fundraising groups had largely dismissed Virginia’s governor’s race as a lost cause, but in part thanks to RCV, funding poured in after the Youngkin-Sears-Miyares ticket was announced.

Separately, in New York City, then-Mayor Bill de Blasio celebrated 2021’s contest as the “biggest ranked choice voting election in America,” while many of the competitive races fell during the Democratic primary.

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IN THE ONLY STATE BORDERING RUSSIA, ALASKA GOVERNOR SAYS DEFENSES ARE STRONG

On the other side of the country, however, Alaska Republicans appeared ready to dispense with the recently-implemented system, which many blamed for the election of Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, in a solidly red state as a replacement for the late five-decade GOP mainstay Don Young.

Proponents of RCV in Alaska said in multiple reports that the new system worked in the 2022 race there, in that Peltola – a liberal – Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, – a moderate – and Gov. Mike Dunleavy – a conservative, all won races in the same election.

But Kelly Tshibaka, a Republican who ran for Murkowski’s seat in the nonpartisan primary that year, told Fox News Digital that Alaskans were fooled by proponents of RCV who claimed it would take dark money and extremism out of elections.

She noted how Peltola had prevailed after facing Republicans Nick Begich III – scion of a famous Alaskan political family – and former Gov. Sarah Palin.

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Tshibaka said she fully supports the effort to get rid of RCV in the Last Frontier, as its repeal is poised to be a statewide ballot initiative in November pending a legal challenge to the measure.

She pointed to the failed candidacy of Al Gross, a Democrat-turned-Independent who, at times, led in the primary but dropped out. Tshibaka claimed that Gross had been forced from the ballot to make way for Peltola, who was to his left – and therefore claims that RCV quells extremism are unfounded.

WHAT IS RANKED CHOICE VOTING, THE NEW ELECTION PROCESS USED IN ALASKA?

Gross said at the time it was “just too hard to run as a nonpartisan candidate in this race” and that the country was “broken.”

Tshibaka also argued that the system leads to a much smaller pool of voters ultimately electing a candidate as other votes are canceled out in tabulation rounds.

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“So, it’s very deceptive on how they sell it to the public,” she said, adding that 2022 is largely seen as the most negative election in the state’s history despite RCV being sold to voters as a moderating force.

“We are baiting the water for negativity. You might have a one-off anecdote here or there. However, what we saw in Maine and Alaska … we’re seeing an increase in extreme negativity.”

Judy Eledge, a former schoolteacher in the Arctic oceanside community of Barrow – or Utqiagvik – who is active in Alaskan conservative circles, said the RCV system has shown to be very confusing to voters:

“You basically don’t get your first choice of who you want to win, and it enables people that otherwise would never win anything,” said Eledge. “It gives them enough to win and basically just destroys the party system within the state when it comes to elections.”

Eledge also claimed that it allows candidates who have substantial outside financial support a leg up, artificially influencing second and third choices.

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Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) speaks to supporters at a watch party on November 8, 2022, in Anchorage, Alaska. (Getty Images )

In Maine, the implementation of RCV paved the way for Democrat Jared Golden’s surprise 2018 upset over incumbent GOP Rep. Bruce Poliquin, marking the first large-scale test of RCV statewide.

Golden’s campaign told Fox News Digital that RCV is a “nonfactor” in his current race. “Like 2020, this will be a head-to-head race,” a spokesperson for the campaign said.

In response to criticisms, Peltola said that while RCV gets a lot of attention in Alaska, the true denominator is the open-primary system.

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“We need more people willing to work with the other party, and Alaska’s system gives those candidates a chance. For instance, I wouldn’t have won a Democratic primary – I’m too conservative, and I talk about things that don’t just appeal to the Democratic base,” Peltola said.

“Open primaries and ranked-choice voting give a voice to the 64% of Alaskans that aren’t Democrats or Republicans.”

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Maine

Maine Celtics stumble against Windy City

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Maine Celtics stumble against Windy City


Max McClung scored 12 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter, and the Windy City Bulls went on a 15-2 run in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 121-106 win over the Maine Celtics in an NBA G League game Friday night at the Portland Expo.

Kevin Knox II added 30 points, 21 in the second half.

Amari Williams led the Celtics with 26 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Jalen Bridges made six 3-pointers and finished with 22 points, but the Celtics dropped to 2-8 in their last 10 games. Maine has lost four straight games at the Expo.

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Massachusetts

Eight takeaways from Friday’s high school playoffs action, including four 1,000-point scorers – The Boston Globe

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Eight takeaways from Friday’s high school playoffs action, including four 1,000-point scorers – The Boston Globe


Find the full scoreboard here, along with everything we wrote Friday night:

Not seeing your team’s highlights in Takeaways? Here are all the ways to submit scores and stats to Globe Schools via phone, email, and social media.

▪ Cathedral senior Keyona Raines scored 15 points, including the 1,000th of her career, as the No. 5 Panthers handled No. 28 Hudson, 60-43, in the first round of the Division 4 girls’ basketball tournament.

▪ Sutton junior captain Ava Carroll netted her 1,000th career point during a 29-point effort in a 49-31 Division 4 first-round win over Easthampton.

▪ With a layup in the waning seconds of the first half, Anna Freeman became the 10th Medway player, and first since Riley Childs in 2018, to score 1,000 career points. She finished the 55-24 Division 3 first-round win over St. Paul with 17. Her father, Matt Freeman, scored 1,000 points at Bishop Feehan.

▪ Burlington boys’ basketball senior Matty Gray reached 1,000 career points during a 25-point performance in a 95-58 Division 2 first-round rout of Holliston. He reached the mark on a first-quarter layup.

▪ Falmouth boys’ hockey senior Kody Pokraka rode two assists to 100 career points during a 5-4 Division 2 first-round win over Plymouth South.

It was a chalky day, with only one significant upset: No. 22 Greater Lawrence girls’ basketball easily handling No. 11 Hamilton-Wenham, 65-45, in the Division 4 first round thanks to 13 3-pointers as a team and a combined 47 points from Serenity West (24) and Maliah Caban (23).

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The only other lower seeds to win were No. 18 Marshfield boys’ basketball, which took out No. 15 Cambridge, 66-63, in overtime in the Division 1 first round, and No. 34 Arlington Catholic boys’ basketball, which survived No. 31 Duxbury, 64-60, in Division 2 preliminary-round action.

The finish of the night came in No. 17 South Hadley’s 61-60 win over No. 16 Madison Park. Trailing 60-59 and inbounding with 10.3 seconds left, the Tigers got an off-balance 3-pointer, but junior Noah Hambley crashed the boards and in one fell swoop secured the rebound and put it back up off the glass for the winning bucket as time expired in a boys’ basketball Division 4 first-round matchup.

The Oliver Ames boys got four free throws from Jacob Lok in the final 26 seconds to squeak past Canton, 45-42, in the first round of the Division 2 bracket. The Acton-Boxborough girls also needed overtime to complete a 53-49 Division 1 first-round triumph over Brookline.

The only overtime hockey game of the night saw the Diman boys net an equalizer in the final minute of regulation before Marlborough’s Ethan Guo supplied the heroics just 2:08 into the extra frame, propelling the No. 8 Panthers into the Division 3 second round with a 6-5 victory. Anthony Tramontozzi and Chace Lozano each scored twice for Marlborough

Caroline Arruda, Marshfield — The sophomore poured in 32 points to push the Rams to a 68-63 preliminary-round win over Westborough.

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Gaby Bassett, Nauset/Monomoy — The senior capped her hat trick with the winning goal in a 4-3 Division 2 opening-round win over Burlington.

Brody Bumila and Jake Webster, Bishop Feehan — The seniors took control of an 85-67 Division 1 first-round victory, with Bumila providing 32 points and 14 rebounds and Webster going for 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists.

Avery Gamble, Oliver Ames — The senior’s 3-point shot wasn’t falling, but she didn’t let that get in the way of a 34-point performance, 2 off her career best, during a 59-50 Division 2 first-round win over Bedford.

Eileen Lowther, Hingham — The junior controlled the glass, pulling down 15 rebounds and blocking six shots to go with 12 points in a 54-43 Division 2 first-round win.

Mollie Mullen, Bishop Feehan — The senior from Dighton delivered 21 points, 9 steals, and 5 assists as the No. 2 Shamrocks rolled to a 71-30 Division 1 first-round victory over Peabody.

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Maura Quirk, Acton-Boxborough — The sophomore was cleaning the glass to the tune of 17 rebounds while adding 13 points in a 53-49 overtime win in the first round of the Division 1 bracket.

Senior Sophia O’Donnell made history, becoming the first St. Mary’s athlete to sign to become a Division 1 rower. O’Donnell will row for Merrimack.

Milton Academy graduate Cormac Ryan signed a two-way NBA contract with the Bucks on Thursday, making him the fourth former member of the Middlesex Magic AAU program currently in the NBA, along with The Pistons’ Duncan Robinson, Hornets’ Pat Connaughton, and Knicks’ Tyler Kolek.

Ryan, who hails from New York, was a three-time All-NEPSAC selection at Milton Academy before playing at Stanford, Notre Dame, and North Carolina. He spent the last two seasons in the G League with the Oklahoma City Blue and Wisconsin Herd. He played with the Thunder’s Summer League team in 2024.

Quinnipiac junior Anna Foley, a 6-foot-3-inch Andover graduate, was celebrated for reaching 1,000 points during a ceremony Friday. She passed the mark on Feb. 12 in a 62-40 victory over Siena. A two-time All-MAAC second team selection, she’s averaging 9.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.

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8. Basketball leaderboard

Avery Gamble, Oliver Ames, 34

Caroline Arruda, Marshfield, 32

Brody Bumila, Bishop Feehan, 32

Weston Bunnell, Stoneham, 29

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Joe Baraky, Duxbury, 28

Zach Georges, Pioneer Charter I, 27

Kelsi Lanza, Silver Lake, 27

Josh Roux, Andover, 26

Ava Bailey, Newburyport, 25

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Allie Danis, Newton North, 25

Angie Djoko, Danvers, 25

Noah Feldman, Marshfield, 25

Matty Gray, Burlington, 25

Jackson Hines, Arlington Catholic, 25

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Connor Houle, Attleboro, 25

Katelyn Troilo, Mansfield, 25

Alex Ste. Marie, Manchester Essex, 24

Serenity West, Greater Lawrence, 24

Noah Bayersdorfer, Winthrop, 23

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Maliah Caban, Greater Lawrence, 23

Josh Jenkins, Barnstable, 23

Reagan Maniscalco, Tewksbury, 23

Colin Trimble, Foxborough, 23

Eva Andrews, Needham, 22

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Alaysia Drummonds, Foxborough, 22

Trevor Manning, Ipswich, 22

Gia Porazzo, Foxborough, 22

Sarah Powers, Wayland, 22

Ryan Tullish, Middleborough, 22

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Chase Gara, Sutton, 21

Mollie Mullen, Bishop Feehan, 21

LaDainian Rodrigues, Attleboro, 21

Rex Satter, Ipswich, 21

Jake Webster, Bishop Feehan, 21

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Aboubakar Nimaka, Malden Catholic, 20

Dylan Raffle, Milton, 20

Maeve Horsman, Oliver Ames, 18

Eva Andrews, Needham, 17

Maura Quirk, Acton-Boxborough, 17

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Tony Dean, Stoneham, 15

Eileen Lowther, Hingham, 15

Brody Bumila, Bishop Feehan, 14

Angie Djoko, Danvers, 12

Camden Strandberg, Bridgewater-Raynham, 11

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Avery Teixeira, Bishop Feehan, 11

Sophie Gallivan, North Reading, 10

Shannon LaMorticelli, Bishop Feehan, 10

Aboubakar Nimaka, Malden Catholic, 10

Zarah Ochi, Burlington, 10

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Ashley Varnum, Bridgewater-Raynham, 10

Lila Polansky, Bridgewater-Raynham, 8

Duke Cherry, Malden Catholic, 7

Sophie Gallivan, North Reading, 7

Erin Reilly, Burlington, 7

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Jake Webster, Bishop Feehan, 7

Caroline Connors, Millis, 6

Egan Gill, Bishop Feehan, 6

Rex Satter, Ipswich, 6

Marcus Tayag, Pioneer Charter I, 6

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Rayana Laurent, Pingree, 5

Mollie Mullen, Bishop Feehan, 9

Reagan Maniscalco, Tewksbury, 6

Ella O’Keefe, Oliver Ames, 5

Dylan Raffle, Milton, 4

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Ava Sicari, Burlington, 4

Rex Satter, Ipswich, 3

Eileen Lowther, Hingham, 6

Maeve Horsman, Oliver Ames, 5

Zarah Ochi, Burlington, 4

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Gaby Bassett, Nauset/Monomoy, 3

Griff Callahan, Martha’s Vineyard, 2

Max Cronen, Monomoy/Mashpee, 2

Addy Harrington, Duxbury, 2

Jaxon Hoey, Norwell, 2

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Chace Lozano, Marlborough, 2

Mackenna Metell, Martha’s Vineyard, 2

Christos Rogaris, Dover-Sherborn/Weston, 2

Mark Trahon, Norwood, 2

Anthony Tramontozzi, Marlborough, 2

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Bryce Campanale, Norwell, 3

Maeve Turner, Falmouth, 3

Violet Cox, Falmouth, 2

Ryan Heidt, Martha’s Vineyard, 2

Cam Long, Norwell, 2

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Kody Pokraka, Falmouth, 2

Bailen Darack, Martha’s Vineyard, 22

Sammie Precourt, Dennis-Yarmouth, 16


Brendan Kurie can be reached at brendan.kurie@globe.com. Follow him on X @BrendanKurie.





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New Hampshire

Sen. Denise Ricciardi & Jeff Rogers: Stopping super speeders can save lives in New Hampshire

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Sen. Denise Ricciardi & Jeff Rogers: Stopping super speeders can save lives in New Hampshire





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