Alaska Redistricting Saga Could End By Thursday

 The Alaska Redistricting Board approved the Final Proclamation Plan May 15.  Alaskans have 30 days to legally challenge a final plan.  By my count, the deadline is Wednesday, June 14.  

If no challenges are filed, the plan is officially settled until the next plan is completed using the 2030 data.  

The Board has a request before it from the Girdwood plaintiffs to tell the Board attorney NOT to oppose their (Gridwood plaintiffs) request for attorney fees.  Other than closing shop, that's pretty much all the business I'm aware of.  

Of course, if someone files a challenge, there will be another trial.  But there isn't much left to challenge.  All the house districts were settled in previous court decisions and there are only a few north-east Anchorage Senate districts that could possible be still in play.  And there's no real basis for a successful challenge that I can see.  Nor do I see any real advantage for anyone to gain.  But others can, I'm sure, see more than I can.  

All in all, this was a much more representative Board than the last one.  The Board had three active Republicans and two who did not declare any partisan affiliation.  On many things they got along well. On a few there were strong disagreements.  There were three woman and two men.  Two of the women were Alaska Native.  

Peter Torkelson, the Board's executive director has made arrangements for the Board's website to be preserved at least until the next Board convenes.  The last one had documents scattered on various state sites, which disappeared as new governors got elected.  The Board's site just vanished.  

The only readily available documentation for the 2010 redistricting is on this blog - there's an index in the page just below the header - Alaska Redistricting Board 2010-2013.  And the overview page with an index of posts for the 2010 process is also up and supplements the official Board Page.