- JUNEAU, Alaska - A federal three-judge panel is scheduled to hear arguments Thursday in case involving Alaska's new redistricting plan. Several Alaska Natives are asking the panel to bar the state from implementing the plan until the U.S. Justice Department weighs in on it. Alaska is one of the states required to submit redistricting plans or proposed election changes to Justice, to ensure the plans aren't discriminatory. Attorneys for the state say this requirement is unconstitutional, and want the judges to deny the plaintiffs' request. Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell, in a recent statement, said Congress has "no basis to micromanage Alaska's elections." The Alaska Supreme Court had earlier approved use of the plan for this year's elections, but any plan must pass muster both with the courts and Justice.

 

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