Majority Rules
NOW AVAILABLE TO RENT OR OWN DIGITALLY
Release Date: June 28, 2024
Running Time: 92 min
Director: AJ Schnack
Produced by: Nick Troiano, AJ Schnack, Alana Schwartz
Executive Producers: Blair Hull, Steve Kantor, William von Mueffling, David Baszucki, Jan Ellison Baszucki, Marc Merrill, Kent Thiry
With the on-screen participation of Nick Begich, Gail Fenumiai, Cathy Geissel, Lisa Murkowski, Sarah Palin, Mary Peltola and Kelly Tshibaka
SYNOPSIS
Alaska is gearing up to do something that no other state has ever done: Adopting a pair of election reforms that will eliminate traditional party primaries and allow voters to rank their candidates by preference. Just as election workers, citizens, and politicians are beginning to adapt to this new system, the state's longest-serving Congressman unexpectedly dies, creating an open seat and prompting a special election that will test this system months earlier than expected. As dozens of candidates –including former Governor Sarah Palin– jump into the race for the highly coveted seat, everyone must learn how these new voting reforms will change the rules of campaigning and winning. The surprising outcome in that special election leads to a groundswell of support for election reform in other states and fierce pushback from political parties and partisans, just as the Alaska general election gets underway.
Veteran political documentary filmmaker AJ Schnack (Caucus, Convention) returns to the campaign trail asking whether these new Alaska reforms, an all-candidate open primary and an instant runoff general election, might be a prescription for what ails the American democratic experiment. Traveling across the country, Schnack and his crew interview reform supporters and opponents, looking at where these reforms are already in place and where they may soon be adopted. The resulting film answers two of our nation’s most pressing questions: How did the American electoral system become so dysfunctional, and can changes to how we vote change our entire system for the better?