Looking forward to talking to candidates ‘who want my second and third-choice votes’

As a Black woman and the founder of Nevada Women In Trades, I was surprised when I discovered that a  version of a federal bill on apprenticeships I am tracking has been co-sponsored by Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski.  Rep. Steven Horsford supported The National Apprenticeship Act of 2021 in the House of Representatives, and the Democratic majority passed the legislation to move it over to the Senate.  In the Senate, Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin sponsored a similar bill, and Murkowski co-sponsored it.  This surprised me because up to now I haven’t been in sisterhood with many white Republican women. 

I have been watching Murkowski and Alaska Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola, who is Native American, for a while because Alaska adopted a new election system in 2022 which is like what Ballot Question 3 is proposing here in Nevada.  I have been frustrated by our political system for a while, so I have been wondering if open primaries with ranked choice voting could change things here for the better. 

Now that Murkowski is free from worrying about being primaried, she seems to be much more independent and working to make things better for all workers, even for minority women in Nevada. I fully support this type of independence. I want to vote for elected leaders who can do the right thing without being punished by one of the political parties. 

I voted yes on Ballot Question 3 in 2022 and I will support it again in 2024 to help white women like Murkowski stand in solidarity with minority women like me regardless of the pressure party leaders put on women like her.  Women standing in solidarity regardless of whether a D or R or even NP is next to their name is something I hope all women will support. 

The independence Peltola and Murkowski enjoy will go nicely with our new state-level Equal Rights Amendment, and eventually with our federal Equal Rights Amendment. From a voter’s perspective, I look forward to speaking to Democratic, Republican, and nonpartisan candidates when I decide how to vote. And I especially look forward to talking to candidates who want my second and third-choice votes. Both Peltola and Murkowski talked to their opponents’ voters as potential supporters, not as enemies, and asked to be their second choice. That civil strategy worked. I want to have those types of conversations. 

Ranked choice voting is not confusing. I will pick my candidates in order of how much I would like to see each one in elected office. In each race I may have a favorite, but I also assume there will be another one or two who I can support. The goal for me will be to find individuals who will think and act independently to better the community. 

Having all candidates on one ballot in the primary is also a good change because it will allow me to pick the best person. All candidates will want to talk to me and hopefully show an interest in marginalized women who need a good career. My right to vote is not tied to a political party.  I have a right to vote in taxpayer-funded elections and the political parties must respect that right. 

As a Black woman who is trying to help the community and empower women to have good-paying careers, Ballot Question 3 makes perfect sense.  It gives me, a voter, more power, and it will hopefully make our elections less negative and our government more responsive to average people like me.