As dissatisfaction with the single member district has grown in recent years, new electoral systems have gained popularity. In particular, the Top Four Primary plus Ranked Choice Voting system, enacted in 2020 and used in Alaska for the first time in 2022, has received considerable attention. Besides reducing partisanship, the system claims to increase voter turnout and encourage third-party candidates and candidates of color to run on election day. Given its novelty, however, a comprehensive overview of the system and the implementation process is currently lacking. As a result, the purpose of this study is to assess the history, passage, challenges, and current debate around the Top Four Primary plus Ranked Choice Voting system. Using popular opinion data, candidate campaign techniques, archives, and ballot data, I find that voter and candidate reactions to the system varied, that incumbent advantage was not evident in the 2022 election cycle, and that voting patterns were associated with campaign strategies. States considering the Top Four Primary plus Ranked Choice Voting system can use this thesis as a guide to understanding the system's successes and drawbacks better. The study could also serve as a starting point for researchers looking into how the Top Four Primary plus Ranked Choice Voting system can enhance democracy.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/46870 |
| Date | 13 September 2023 |
| Creators | De Jesus Paulino, Elvianna Esther |
| Contributors | Palmer, Maxwell |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/ |
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