More than two weeks after the Nov. 5 election, final unofficial results show Ballot Measure 2 in Alaska, the repeal of ranked-choice voting and open primaries, has been rejected by voters.

According to the Alaska Beacon, votes to repeal the election reform measure led until Monday. As of Wednesday, the final day of counting, the repeal failed by 50.1% to 49.9%, or 664 votes.

Alaska recount laws allow for a recount paid for by the state if the margin is less than one-half of one percent. 

Election results are expected to be certified by Nov. 30.

Alaska voters approved ranked choice voting in 2020 and used it for the first time in 2022, when a Democrat, Mary Peltola, defeated two Republican candidates for the state’s only U.S. House representative. The two other candidates who lost were former vice-presidential candidate and Republican Sarah Palin and Republican Nick Begich.

Palin was part of the effort to repeal ranked choice voting in 2024. 

Peltola lost her seat to Begich on Nov. 5. 

Nick Troiano, executive director of Unite America, which sponsored ranked-choice voting measures in the 2024 election, said in a statement “Alaskans of all political stripes –– Democrats, Republicans, and independents –– recommitted to their innovative top-four election system, which is delivering better choices on the ballot and leaders that represent a true majority of voters. Importantly, every Alaska voter will retain the freedom to vote for any candidate, regardless of party, in every taxpayer-funded election. The Last Frontier continues to be a shining example for the entire country of what a fairer and more representative election system can look like,” he added.

Last month, the Alaska Public Offices Commission, which oversees campaign finance laws, fined several groups tied to Ballot Measure 2 $85,000 for violations of Alaska campaign finance laws, including failing to identify donors, failing to file independent expenditure reports, failing to register as a committee and accepting an illegal donation of $90,000. That included Alaskans for Honest Elections. 

In Colorado, Proposition 131, the measure to allow ranked choice/open primaries, lost by more than 6 percentage points. Voters rejected similar measures in Idaho, Missouri, Nevada and Oregon. 

The District of Columbia was the only locale that voted to implement both open primaries and ranked-choice voting. 

Three municipalities in Colorado already use ranked-choice voting for mayoral elections: Basalt, Boulder and Carbondale. Beginning in 2025, Fort Collins voters will use ranked-choice voting to select the mayor and city council.