Preserve Democracy was founded in early 2023 to oppose ranked-choice voting, a system that would allow voters to rank candidates in order of preference. The organization was founded by Kelly Tshibaka, a former Republican candidate for U.S. Senate from Alaska who lost to incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) in a ranked-choice election in 2022. Tshibaka argues that ranked-choice voting results in lower voter turnout and is confusing and more expensive. ¹

Preserve Democracy has launched a get-out-the-vote campaign for Alaska’s municipal elections, and has worked on the national level to provide testimony, evidence, and collaboration with like-minded people and organizations to oppose the adoption of ranked-choice voting. ²

Funding

As of March 2023, the IRS public online database did not yet have information available for Preserve Democracy’s tax status or its filing to be recognized as a tax-exempt organization. As a result, its exact tax status and current funding is not available. However, in February of 2023, the group’s founder, Kelly Tshibaka, met with potential donors, and the organization has since undertaken a media campaign. ^{3 4}

Policies and Projects

Criticism of Ranked Choice Voting

Tshbaka has argued that ranked choice voting is confusing and lowers voter turnout, is more expensive, and leads to voter suppression. She claimed that ranked choice voting is responsible for Alaska’s lowest voter turnout in 2022 since it became a state. ⁵

Get Out the Vote Campaign

Preserve Democracy has launched a get-out-the-vote drive focused on the Anchorage municipal elections set for April 2023. The campaign provides instructions for mail -in voting and also emphasizes that the election does not utilize ranked-choice voting, differentiating it from other Alaska elections. The organization claims that is has issued 14,000 text messages, 20,000 phone calls, and sent 14,000 mailers, in addition to its digital ad campaign. ⁶

Polling of Alaskan Voters

Kelly Tshibaka has stated that the organization plans to conduct a poll to determine Alaskans’ views on the ranked-choice voting system. ⁷

National Efforts

While Preserve Democracy focuses on Alaska, the organization has a national scope. It has provided data on ranked-choice voting to the Minnesota House Elections Committee during a hearing for legislation that would allow the system for municipal elections. It has also worked with like-minded organizations in Nevada and Georgia to prevent the adoption of ranked choice voting. ⁸

Leadership

Kelly Tshibaka is the founder of Preserve Democracy. She has a law degree from Harvard Law School, and worked for various agencies of the federal government from 2002 to 2019. These agencies included the Justice Department, the Office of the Director of National intelligence, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Post Office. Most of these roles were related to bureaucratic inspector positions. In 2019, she relocated to her home state of Alaska and took the job of commissioner in the state Department of Administration, a position which she held until she resigned in March of 2021 when she announced her campaign as a Republican for Alaska’s U.S. senate seat against incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). ⁹

Tshibaka was defeated in the 2022 Alaska senate race by Murkowski, with Murkowski receiving 53.7 percent of the vote to Tshibaka’s 46.3 percent. Notably, this was the first federal general election in which Alaska used rank choice voting. ¹⁰

It was after her defeat that Tshibaka announced the formation of Preserve Democracy and its campaign, both in Alaska and on a national level, against the adoption of ranked-choice voting. ¹¹

1. Davidson, Joel. “Tshibaka Launches National Effort to Combat Growing Threat of Ranked-Choice Voting.” Alaska Watchman, January 23, 2023. Accessed March 24, 2023. https://alaskawatchman.com/2023/01/23/kelly-tshibaka-launches-national-effort-to-combat-ranked-choice-voting-increase-voter-turnout/.
2. “News – Preserve Democracy.” PreserveDemocracy.com. Accessed March 23, 2023. https://preservedemocracy.com/news/.
3. “News – Preserve Democracy.” PreserveDemocracy.com. Accessed March 23, 2023. https://preservedemocracy.com/news/.
4. Poux, Sabine. “Kelly Tshibaka Takes on a New Opponent: Alaska Ranked Choice Voting.” Alaska Public Media, February 9, 2023. Accessed March 23, 2023.  https://alaskapublic.org/2023/02/09/kelly-tshibaka-takes-on-a-new-opponent-alaska-ranked-choice-voting/.
5. Davidson, Joel. “Tshibaka Launches National Effort to Combat Growing Threat of Ranked-Choice Voting.” Alaska Watchman, January 23, 2023. Accessed March 24, 2023. https://alaskawatchman.com/2023/01/23/kelly-tshibaka-launches-national-effort-to-combat-ranked-choice-voting-increase-voter-turnout/.
6. “News – Preserve Democracy.” PreserveDemocracy.com. Accessed March 23, 2023. https://preservedemocracy.com/news/.
7. Poux, Sabine. “Kelly Tshibaka Takes on a New Opponent: Alaska Ranked Choice Voting.” Alaska Public Media, February 9, 2023. Accessed March 23, 2023.  https://alaskapublic.org/2023/02/09/kelly-tshibaka-takes-on-a-new-opponent-alaska-ranked-choice-voting/.
8. “News – Preserve Democracy.” PreserveDemocracy.com. Accessed March 23, 2023. https://preservedemocracy.com/news/.
9. “Kelly T. | LinkedIn.” LinkedIn.com. Accessed March 24, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-t-1574b098/details/experience/.
10. “United States Senate Election in Alaska, 2022.” Ballotpedia. Accessed March 24, 2023. https://ballotpedia.s3.amazonaws.com/images/6/6d/FEDERAL_ONLY.pdf#page=1.
11. Poux, Sabine. “Kelly Tshibaka Takes on a New Opponent: Alaska Ranked Choice Voting.” Alaska Public Media, February 9, 2023. Accessed March 23, 2023.  https://alaskapublic.org/2023/02/09/kelly-tshibaka-takes-on-a-new-opponent-alaska-ranked-choice-voting/.