I hate to be the skunk at the garden party, but Palin might be correct. RCV split the conservative vote and may have handed the election to Peltola. Conservatives may have coalesced behind Palin after Begich would have been disqualified in a traditional two-person runoff, and Palin may have won head-to-head against Peltola.

Instant runoff was first proposed in the 18th century, and there have been many versions since, but the Gold Standard is the Condorcet Method, meaning if one candidate can beat all others head-to-head, that candidate should win; that is the Condorcet winner criteria. I’m no expert but I doubt that Alaska’s RCV meets those criteria, and it certainly does not meet Fred-Rick’s proportionality criteria. Perhaps Fred-Rick can explain.

I still think RCV is a good start. It allows third parties a shot at winning despite our duopoly, but it needs work – and voter understanding and voter acceptance. If it gets too complicated, it won’t be.