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Legal Requirements

 

Redistricting Guidelines

Alaska Redistricting Board
2011 Redistricting Guidelines
Adopted March 16, 2011

Download (PDF)

The Alaska Redistricting Board shall use the following criteria in order of priority listed  in adopting a redistricting plan for the State of Alaska. 

1.   Federal Constitutional Redistricting Principles

A.  One Person, One Vote”. Standard established by US Supreme Court in Baker v. Carr & Reynolds v. Sims. According to “one person, one vote”, legislative seats must be apportioned exclusively on the basis of population and the populations of the respective legislative districts must be substantially equal.

B.   Districts of as nearly as equal size as practicable. Maximum overall deviation of no more than 10%, (i.e., plus or minus 5%).  Deviation is the measure of how much a district or plan varies from the ideal. Good faith efforts to make deviations as small as practicable must be made.

C.  No purposeful discrimination against a group that has been consistently excluded from the political process.

D.   No political or racial gerrymandering.

2.  Federal Statutory Redistricting Principals

A.   Sections 2 & 5 of the US Voting Rights Act of 1965

i.   Section 2—No denial or abridgement of voting rights on account of race, color or status as a member of a language minority. The minority group must be large, cohesive and vote as a bloc.    

ii.  Section 5—No avoidable retrogression. Retrogression is drawing a district in a manner that worsens minority voting strength as compared to the previous district configuration.

3.   State Constitutional Redistricting Principles

A.  House districts of as nearly equal size as practicable (no overall deviation greater than 10% (plus or minus 5%)

i.  10% deviation standard is not a safe harbor, good faith efforts must be made to reduce deviations to as small as practicable

ii.  Deviations in urban areas must be made as small as practicable because   new technology makes it practicable to achieve those deviations.

B.   Redistricting must be based upon the population within each district as reported by the official U.S. decennial census. 

C.  Districts must be contiguous.  Contiguity = All parts of a district being connected at some point with the rest of the district.

D.   Districts must be relatively compact.  Compactness = Having the minimum distance between all parts of a district.

F.   House Districts consisting of relatively socio-economically integrated areas

G.  Consideration to be given to local government boundaries where it is practical to do so.

H.   Senate districts composed of two contiguous house districts.

I.  Drainage and other geographic features must be used, whenever possible, in describing boundaries.

4.  State Statutory Redistricting Principals

A.  Compliance with AS 15.10.200. Redistricting Board may not adjust the
census numbers by using estimates, population surveys, or sampling for the purpose of
excluding or discriminating among persons counted based on race, religion, color,
national origin, sex, age, occupation, military or civilian status, or length of residency.