The Alaska Supreme Court has made a historic ruling that declares partisan gerrymandering unconstitutional under the state’s equal protection doctrine. The court has given the Alaska Redistricting Board a 90-day deadline to justify why the interim political map should not be used for the 2032 general election.
The Alaska Redistricting Board’s Chair, John Binkley, mentioned that the board members would discuss the court’s ruling thoroughly and hold a meeting. The court’s lengthy 144-page decision explained why they believed that the board members indulged in unconstitutional partisan gerrymandering by using undisclosed methods to create two Senate districts in Eagle River that were advantageous to the Republicans.
According to a court opinion, creating maps for political gain is unlawful. Following the decision, Scott Kendall, an attorney and former chief of staff to independent Gov. Bill Walker, stated that this ruling would impose important limits on the redistricting process to prevent future political misuse. This is a significant milestone in Alaska as it marks the first time the state’s highest court has used the equal protection doctrine to forbid partisan gerrymandering.
Recently, there was a controversial redistricting cycle in Alaska. The court found that the Alaska Redistricting Board had unconstitutionally gerrymandered the political maps twice, specifically by giving two Senate seats to solidly Republican Eagle River in an attempt to provide them with more political representation. For the general election in November last year, the board approved an interim map that kept Eagle River together in one Senate district.
The recent decision in Alaska against partisan gerrymandering is important as it follows a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2019, which stated that federal courts cannot intervene in political redistricting. The Alaska Supreme Court referred to this ruling but explained that the state’s constitution prohibits partisan gerrymandering, according to its original intent by the constitutional convention delegates. This decision is a significant win for those hoping to end partisan gerrymandering in Alaska and may influence similar cases in other states.