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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
“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.
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.
“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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Boston Red Sox
Sonny Gray once again led the way on the bump for Boston.
Are the Boston Red Sox back?
They’re certainly on the right track.
Boston won its seventh consecutive game Friday night, 6-2, in its series opener against the New York Mets. The victory improved its record to 44-48, which moved the club even closer to .500 on the year.
On top of that, the win was the Red Sox’ 12th in their last 14 games.
Immediately after the final out was recorded, Boston found itself 1.5 games back of the American League’s third wild-card spot.
The win was even sweeter considering the team’s severe issues they experienced in attempting to reach Citi Field.
After they were supposed to have departed Chicago at 9:45 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday night following their series sweep of the White Sox, the Red Sox’ team plane was grounded until 3 p.m. ET on Friday. Weather delays on Thursday kept them at their gate, and then mechanical problems on Friday prolonged their stay on the tarmac well into the afternoon.
Friday’s game with the Mets was originally scheduled to begin at 7:15 p.m., but was pushed back until 7:50 due to Boston not landing at LaGuardia Airport until shortly after 4:30 p.m.
Starting pitcher Sonny Gray did not travel to New York ahead of time, which some starters do to get settled before their outing.
Nevertheless, the Red Sox de facto ace continued his stretch of utterly dominant pitching.
Gray tossed six innings of one-run ball, struck out three, and walked one on 91 pitches (53 strikes). He added an 11th win to his personal record in what has been an excellent season for the veteran right-hander.
Boston’s bullpen was nails, too — Tyron Guerrero, Garrett Whitlock, and Greg Weissert finished the game off in the final three innings after Gray exited. Weissert allowed New York’s second and final run in the ninth on a solo home run, but that was all she wrote in the runs column.
Offensively, the Red Sox’ bats stayed hot in what has been an unprecedented turnaround by the entire team at the plate.
Masataka Yoshida got things going in the first inning with a two-run double, but Boston was quiet until the seventh when Anthony Seigler broke things open. He hit a two-run homer to extend the lead, his second of the year, and was fired up as he rounded the bases.
After the game, Apple TV’s Heidi Watney asked Seigler how he had so much energy following the travel issues the team encountered earlier in the day. He said the club simply knew they would have to persevere, and they did just that on the diamond.
“I think that’s just how we are. It’s this whole team. It doesn’t just start with one person. I think it’s just everybody in the locker room,” Seigler said. “We were dealt some adversity today, obviously. But it doesn’t matter. We knew we were gonna come out here and handle our business, and we did.”
He even said he felt like he could suit up for another game immediately after the win.
“I mean, I feel like we could go another nine (innings) if we needed to, honestly, with how we’re going,” Seigler said with a smile.
Seigler, who came to Boston in the Caleb Durbin trade in February, has been a total, albeit unlikely, spark plug since joining the team last month. Through 20 games, he’s slashing .292/.378/.477 with an .855 OPS, and has hit at the top of the order.
Wilyer Abreu joined in on the fun with a two-run shot of his own in the ninth to cap the Red Sox’ scoring. He finally got a hold of one after coming within feet of hitting a homer in the fifth inning.
Boston’s offensive surge couldn’t have come at a better time. The front office has yet to decide whether they will be buyers or sellers at next month’s trade deadline; the team’s hot streak could prevent chief baseball officer Craig Breslow from blowing the roster up entering the second half.
The Red Sox are still four games below .500, but capping off the first half of what was a tumultuous start to the season with a win streak and multiple series sweeps could be just what the doctor ordered with the dog days of summer looming.
“We’re just putting great at-bats together, the whole lineup from top to bottom,” Seigler said of what’s gone right lately. “Our starter, Sonny, all of them, they just speak for themselves. And then our bullpen does a great job coming in behind them.
“It’s just fun to be around everybody. We believe in each other. Everything’s contagious. We’re all bringing high energy every day.”
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An oversized poster board tracks the deep cleaning happening across Pittsburgh’s Mount Washington neighborhood. All of the yellow highlights denote the streets already adopted.
“We got all the streets on Grandview [Avenue] and we’re still working on a few on Duquesne.”
It’s the brain of Helen Oldfield, who told KDKA-TV that her recent move from the West Coast left something to be desired at first.
“I was very depressed and shocked by the amount of dirt and litter everywhere,” said Oldfield, creator of the Adopt-A-Block program.
She started volunteering for the large cleanups along Grandview Avenue and loved seeing people rappel down the sides to collect the accumulated trash.
“It’s the iconic street in Pittsburgh. It needs to be clean and look nice, but what about the rest of Mount Washington? When people wandered back through the streets, it was just horrible; it was a mess,” Oldfield said.
It was from that idea that Oldfield’s Adopt-a-Block program was born. Now she’s more than 60 volunteers deep and trying not to just clean but shift attitudes.
“I think a lot of the mess that accumulates up here on Grandview, unfortunately, is due to groups of young people collecting in the evening and just hanging out,” she said. “And it’s a cool place to hang out, so why not? They come with their motorbikes, and they come with their fast cars, and they drink, and they eat fast food, and then they chuck it all over the edge. I don’t believe the trash is due to any local residents or any visitors or sightseers.”
Volunteers Barbara and Paul Franklin say this is part of their life now.
“We’ve been here about a year, and we moved back to Pittsburgh after being away for 37 years, and we noticed there’s just a lot of trash out there,” Paul Franklin said.
The couple is now donning yellow safety vests, using an embroidery hoop to keep the trash bags open, and using grabbers to snag cigarette butts, cans, and even gum wrappers.
“When we do McCardle Roadway on Sunday mornings, I feel really good about that,” Barbara Franklin said.
The volunteers keep on coming, snapping pictures of themselves getting their steps in and making a difference, block by block.
“There is still a long way to go, and we are getting there, and I feel the motivation going here,” said Oldfield.
The Franklins told KDKA-TV that it’s addicting, and now they notice trash everywhere. They hope people will see this story and spread it beyond Mt. Washington.
“We’re proud of this city, we’re proud of this neighborhood, and we want to show it in its best light, and we think we’re helping to do that,” said Paul Franklin.
Oldfield said she hopes to secure some funding to continue supplying her volunteers with much-needed gear. She’s currently receiving some money from the community organization Neighbors on the Mount to purchase the vests and grabbers.
She’s soon applying for grant money in the form of a Neighborhood Economic Development grant and told KDKA-TV that she hopes the city will consider her group for the funds to keep this going.
The second-year Golden State Valkyries keep clearing hurdles that have never been scaled in the history of the WNBA.
They did it again Friday night.
Across the country from Ballhalla, against an opponent with the league’s worst record, the Valkyries became the fastest WNBA expansion franchise to 40 victories.
They needed just 68 games over two seasons to hit the mark.
That was among the bullet points in their 79-64 victory over the Connecticut Sun, an outcome that extended Golden State’s franchise-record win streak to seven games, including the first four in a five-city trip that concludes Wednesday at Indiana.
The Valkyries overcame a rough start on a night in which their All-Star forward, Gabby Williams, was ruled out before tip-off because of a back injury that sidelined her in the fourth quarter of the team’s win in Toronto on Wednesday.
Connecticut, which fell to 5-18, stormed to a 9-2 lead in the opening minutes and maintained an advantage into the second quarter even though its leading scorer on the season, center Brittney Griner, missed her second consecutive game because of a quad strain.
But the Valkyries’ highly touted defense eventually put a grip on the home team, and Golden State grabbed its first lead, 24-23, when Kaila Charles drove for a layup.
The visitors led 30-25 at halftime.
Connecticut kept the margin within single digits for nearly all of the third quarter, but Veronica Burton closed the period with an up-and-under layup as time expired to give Golden State a 54-44 cushion heading into the final 10 minutes.
The Valkyries put the score out of reach when Charles and Burton made back-to-back 3-pointers to widen the lead to 60-44 with 7:19 to play.
Burton had a superb game against her former team, finishing with 17 points, six assists, three rebounds, two blocks and a steal. The Valkyries are undefeated this season when the point guard has at least six assists.
Golden State’s bench contributed 42 points, seven more than its league-high season average. Janelle Salaun led the reserves with 16 points, seven rebounds, and three steals. Laeticia Amihere added six points, five rebounds, three blocks and three assists. The Valkyries also got nine points from Tiffany Hayes and eight from Kaitlyn Chen.
Williams, meanwhile, gave the team a boost from the bench.
“Gabby is still going to contribute, and she still helped us,” Burton said. “She was one of the loudest people throughout the entire game. With that … it’s a next-man-up mentality. There is not necessarily any drop-off. We find different ways to win, and we just rely on every single person on this team.”
With the win, Golden State is the first to 17 victories this season, as the result on Friday improved its record to 17-7, tying the Valkyries with Las Vegas and Minnesota (both 16-6) for the league’s top mark.
How has Golden State done it?
It starts with “high-character” players the front office brought in, coach Natalie Nakase said, noting that everyone has accepted their roles, some more challenging than others.
“The best thing about our team is we have a selfless team that understands matchups,” Nakase said. “Having a deep bench was intentional. But it also comes with the humility that each player has to have that sometimes they can start, sometimes they’ll have a night, sometimes they might not start, sometimes they might not have a night.
“This is a very special group. I am not going to take this group for granted at all because they have meshed a lot better together than I anticipated.”
But even with far more highs than lows, the Valkyries are not a finished product in the eyes of their coach. Nakase noted the team’s slow starts in its previous two games, against Washington and Toronto, and stressed stronger consistency.
The Valkyries had another rough start on Friday.
Afterward, Nakase pointed to fatigue caused by an extended period on the road.
“We lost our vocalness in the first quarter, so I wasn’t really happy with that,” she said. “When you’re tired, the first thing that goes is the mind and they stop talking. We found pockets tonight of when we were very, very connected. But I need to see some rest. They deserve it. Four games in seven days and the emptying-the-tank mentality, I saw a lot of consistency there. But this game was really tough. Credit to Connecticut.”
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