Ranked-choice voting is on the rise, but if Alaska’s open primary fiasco is any indication, that’s not a good thing.

This November, Nevada voters will debate an open primary and ranked-choice voting ballot initiative known as Question 3. The initiative would institute nonpartisan primaries and ask voters to rank up to five choices in general elections. Despite promises made by progressive cheerleader organizations like FairVote that ranked-choice voting “mitigates vote splitting,” “minimizes strategic voting,” and reduces “political polarization,” doing away with partisan elections will only sideline the most popular candidates while requiring voters to allocate their rankings counterintuitively.

In November 2020, Alaska voters approved a similar ballot initiative to Nevada’s Question 3, designed to eliminate partisan primaries and implement top-four ranked-choice voting in general elections. The initiative passed by about 1 percent — a margin of 3,700 votes. The new format debuted on June 11 after Alaska Rep. Don Young’s death created a vacancy in the House of Representatives. Although Question 3 would allow five candidates to progress to the general elections, rather than four, the logistics — and lessons — remain largely the same.