The U.S. Justice Department has given its approval to Alaska’s new redistricting plan.
The approval – known as “preclearance” under the Voting Rights Act – comes in the midst of a federal lawsuit, filed by Alaska Native groups to keep the state from implementing the plan until the Justice Department weighs in.
In a letter to the Alaska Redistricting Board’s attorney today (Wednesday), U.S. Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez says the decision does not bar subsequent litigation to bar enforcement of redistricting changes.
