Chaotic end to primary comes as Alaskans will decide fate of ranked voting

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Even after the last votes were counted from Alaska's primary election, the final slate of candidates was far from settled.

What happened

Late withdrawals shook up the races for governor, U.S. Senate and U.S. House, leaving plenty of voters upset with candidates who dropped out after winning a spot in November's general election or cursing others who stayed in.

Some were quick to blame the upheaval on Alaska's unique elections system that combines open primaries, where the top four vote-getters advance, with general elections run under a ranked choice system.

For context, the August primary made public some of the headaches related to a major change in how Alaska voters select their candidates and was the latest example of how the real-world experience of state voting changes don't always line up neatly with expectations. California Democrats earlier this year worried they might obtain shut out of the state's top-two primary for governor out of fears they were running too numerous candidates.

The bottom line

Taken together, the developments around chaotic end to primary comes as Alaskans will decide fate of ranked point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.