No Fair Representation If Gerrymandering is Allowed
by yarrow silvers
Every 10 years, after completion of the US Census, Alaska’s State House and Senate boundaries are redrawn to account for changes in population in different areas of the state. This helps ensure, as much as possible, equal representation in every district, with elected representatives each having a district that has approximately the same number of people. This work is carried out in Alaska by a redistricting board of five members who are appointed by the Governor (2), the House and Senate majority leaders (2), and the Chief Justice (1).
Last year’s redistricting cycle, which began after the 2020 Census was officially completed, became the subject of five separate lawsuits. The most controversial, concerning the state’s senate pairings, sought to rectify the Board’s decision to pair South Muldoon with Eagle River, which crosses through an uninhabited mountain range. The section of Eagle River drawn together with South Muldoon is largely rural, staunchly conservative, 75% white, with average household incomes of $112,912 a year. Meanwhile, East Anchorage has lower incomes, 43.65% minority population, and is largely an issues-based swing district. Close to 200 people from both East Anchorage and Eagle River testified in opposition to these pairings, describing the many ways in which the two communities are separate communities with differing and complex issues. They demanded loud and clear that they should be paired with their more similar neighbors.
It didn´t matter. The Republican-majority Board quickly and quietly paired South Muldoon and Eagle River anyhow, despite the vast number of well-reasoned arguments from the community. Not to mention, this pairing received intense pushback from two members of the redistricting board – Melanie Bahnke and Nicole Borromeo – both of whom spoke out clearly against these pairings, with Borromeo stating that they defied logic. When pressed on her reasoning for splitting apart Eagle River, board member Bethany Marcum stated live on the record that the pairing “actually gives Eagle River the opportunity to have more representation”. The corollary, that East Anchorage residents would end up having their voices muffled, never came up as part of her equation, despite Borromeo plainly stating in discussion that these pairings opened up the board to “an unfortunate and very easily winnable argument of partisan gerrymandering.”
This week the Alaskan Supreme Court affirmed a lower court’s decision, finding that these pairings constituted a partisan gerrymander, and ordered the board to redraw them. Gerrymandering occurs when districts are drawn in a way that gives one party or group of people an unfair advantage, while disenfranchising other voices. In Alaska, our state constitution gives us some protection from the most extreme gerrymandering, but because our board is appointed by elected officials who may have partisan interests, the redistricting board may still try to find ways to gerrymander, despite the constitutional requirements. This is what the redistricting board majority tried – and ultimately failed – to do. I was one of three plaintiffs in the legal case against the board. I had testified to the board several times in good faith, and after witnessing the board’s actions, decided that silence was not an option. I wanted to stand up for my neighborhood, along with two other East Anchorage residents who were also plaintiffs in the case, and fight for equal representation that best reflects the people who live in my district and who have had less representation in the past, especially the part of East Anchorage that was briefly paired with Eagle River and then included with a South Anchorage district over the last 10 years. The court’s decision in this case was groundbreaking in that it sets a stronger legal precedent against gerrymandering in our state. It is a huge win for democracy, justice, and fair representation. Personally, I am excited that the court’s decision in this case will give my daughter, who will be voting for the first time under these maps, a fair and equal vote.
