JUNEAU (AP) — The Alaska Supreme Court has affirmed a lower court ruling that the board tasked with redrawing the state’s legislative district boundaries “again engaged in unconstitutional political gerrymandering” and ordered the use of a new map for this year’s elections.
Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews in his ruling last week said it appeared that the majority of the Alaska Redistricting Board’s members had adopted a map splitting the Eagle River area into two state Senate districts for “political reasons.”
Opponents of the board map said it was intended to give more political influence to Eagle River’s conservative voters by shifting them into two Senate seats instead of just one.
The Supreme Court upheld the judge’s ruling.
The map that Matthews ordered the board to adopt pairs the two Eagle River area House districts into a single Senate district, as it has been for years.
The Supreme Court on May 24 affirmed Matthews’ order for the adoption of the map for this year’s elections.
The decision came ahead of the June 1 filing deadline for the August primary and followed a second round of challenges to the board’s work.
The Redistricting Board met after the Supreme Court ruling to adopt the map as ordered by the court.
In tossing out the board’s preferred map, Matthews said he found that the board had “intentionally discriminated against the communities of Girdwood and South Anchorage in order to maximize Senate representation for Eagle River and the Republican party.” The board’s map reached through South Anchorage to join Eagle River into a district with Girdwood, a small community about 25 miles away across Chugach State Park.
The court order does not affect any legislative districts in Southeast.
Redistricting plans are drawn using information for the U.S. Census, which is held every 10 years.
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