Alaska Redistricting Board announces next steps

Today (Aug. 12th, 2021) the Alaska Redistricting Board received legacy-formatted PL 94-171 Redistricting data electronically from the United States Census Bureau.

“We are excited to finally have numbers from the 2020 Census” said John Binkley, Chair of the Alaska Redistricting Board. “Our staff are working with experts at the Department of Labor to import the data so we can begin the work of drawing new Alaska legislative districts as soon as possible.”

“Alaska’s Constitutional redistricting cycle is fast-paced and we intend to dive right in,” said Board Member Nicole Borromeo. “After so many months of pandemic-driven delay, we are eager to begin drawing new districts for Alaska voters.”

On September 30, the US Census Bureau will deliver official, user-friendly redistricting data via courier to key state officials, including the Redistricting Board, on fixed DVD media. Until then, Board staff are working with electronically provided legacy-formatted data from the US Census Bureau provided in a collection of large plaintext files which require extensive conversion to be usable.

The Department of Labor will provide a formal report of Alaska population changes to the Board during a public meeting scheduled for August 23 at the Anchorage Legislative Information Office beginning at 10:00am. The public may watch via live stream at www.akl.tv and dial-in to testify using the following numbers: 1. Anchorage 563-9085 2. Juneau 586-9085 3. Other 844-586-9085. For additional information please contact TJ Presley at (907) 229-1385.