In re 2011 Redistricting Cases

Summary

The Alaska Supreme Court reviews the Alaska Redistricting Board’s amended proclamation plan following remand to apply the Hickel process. The court holds that the Board failed to begin with a plan focused on Alaska constitutional requirements before considering Voting Rights Act compliance, affirming invalidation of the amended plan and remanding for a new plan. The court also reverses requirements that the Board make district-specific constitutional findings or submit a plan to the superior court for approval at each drafting stage.

Holdings

1. The Board did not comply with the Hickel process because it retained districts whose boundaries had been affected by initial Voting Rights Act considerations instead of beginning with a plan developed first under Alaska constitutional requirements.
2. The Board was not required to make specific findings regarding the constitutionality of each individual house district.
3. The Board was not required to submit its initial Hickel plan to the superior court for ratification before proceeding to consider Voting Rights Act compliance.
4. Those claims were moot because the Board's failure to follow the Hickel process required a new plan, and the affected districts could have entirely different configurations.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Board complied with the Hickel process when it formulated the Amended Proclamation Plan by retaining districts from the original plan.
2. Whether the Board was required to make specific findings regarding the constitutionality of each individual house district.
3. Whether the Board was required to submit an initial Hickel plan to the superior court for approval before making modifications required for Voting Rights Act compliance.
4. Whether the superior court's rulings concerning the necessity of deviations in particular districts remained justiciable after the court concluded that the Board had failed to follow the Hickel process.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded