For the second time, Alaska’s voting district map is headed to the state Supreme Court. A week ago, a Superior Court judge rejected the state Redistricting Board’s amended version of the map, but earlier this week, the Board decided to appeal the lower court decision.
Supreme Court oral arguments have been set for the week of May 21 – only two weeks before the June first candidate filing deadline.
Although the Board will ask the court to approve its amended plan, Board attorneys have drafted a petition asking the high court to authorize use of an earlier redistricting plan for this year’s elections.
The justices allowed for that option in March, when they sent the first plan back to the board for additional work.
APTI Reporter-Producer Ellen Lockyer started her radio career in the late 1980s, after a stint at bush Alaska weekly newspapers, the Copper Valley Views and the Cordova Times. When the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, Valdez Public Radio station KCHU needed a reporter, and Ellen picked up the microphone.
Since then, she has literally traveled the length of the state, from Attu to Eagle and from Barrow to Juneau, covering Alaska stories on the ground for the AK show, Alaska News Nightly, the Alaska Morning News and for Anchorage public radio station, KSKA
elockyer (at) alaskapublic (dot) org | 907.550.8446 | About Ellen
