According to an announcement, the Alaska Redistricting Board voted unanimously on Tuesday to appeal a recent court decision that the board's revised voting district plan did not meet requirements set forth in the Alaska Constitution.
The Alaska Supreme Court in March directed the Superior Court to re-evaluate the plan. Superior Court Judge McConahy ruled in part that the new plan did not follow the "the Hickel process," namely coming up with a plan first in light of the state constitution and then adjusting it to fit the federal Voting Rights Act.
The board says it will ask the court to overturn Judge McConahy's decision and approve the Amended Proclamation Plan as adopted on April 5, 2012.
Additionally, as a contingency the board authorized its legal counsel to draft a petition seeking to use its Original Proclamation Plan for the 2012 state legislative elections.
The Supreme Court's March order allowed for that option, finding that if the Board's Amended Proclamation Plan has not been approved by both the state court and the U.S. Department of Justice in time for this year's elections, it may petition for use of its Original Proclamation Plan as an interim plan.
On April 5, the board adopted an interim plan based on the original plan plus changes to districts in the Fairbanks area that were mandated by the Alaska Supreme Court.