1960 Alaska Initiative 1
1960 referendum
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A referendum that was rejected by voters in the U.S. State of Alaska was held on August 9, 1960, in parallel with the state's primary elections. The proposal would have moved the state capital from Juneau to a settlement within the Cook Inlet and Railbelt area, to be chosen by a committee of five appointed by the Governor of Alaska. The capital of Alaska has long been the subject of efforts to be relocated, as Juneau is inaccessible by road to the rest of Alaska and the contiguous United States.[1]
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August 9, 1960
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Moving Capital to Cook Inlet-Railbelt Area | ||||||||||
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Election district results
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Contents
The proposal appeared on the ballot as follows:
Moving Capital to Cook Inlet-Railbelt Area[2]
It is proposed that on and after January 1, 1965, the Capital of the State of Alaska, which is by Section 20 of Article XV of the State Constitution located in Juneau, be relocated within the Cook Inlet-Railbelt area. The exact location within this area is to be selected by a committee of five to be appointed by the governor.
Endorsements
Results
The measure was defeated, with approval of the initiative variying widely. While Initiative No. 1 ran up huge margins from the Anchorage metropolitan area, where the capital would have been moved to, it was near-universally rejected by Southeast Alaska, the home of the current capital, with support for the initiative being as low as one percent in some representative districts.
| Choice | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| For | 18,865 | 44.04 | |
| Against | 23,972 | 55.96 | |
| Total | 42,837 | 100.00 | |
By election district
| Region | Election district[4] | For | Against | Margin | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | |||
| South- eastern |
1—Prince of Wales | 8 | 2.08% | 377 | 97.92% | 369 | 95.84% | 385 |
| 2—Ketchikan | 45 | 1.60% | 2,759 | 98.40% | 2,714 | 96.79% | 2,804 | |
| 3—Wrangell-Petersburg | 11 | 0.95% | 1,149 | 99.05% | 1,138 | 98.10% | 1,160 | |
| 4—Sitka | 65 | 4.30% | 1,448 | 95.70% | 1,383 | 91.41% | 1,513 | |
| 5—Juneau | 139 | 3.79% | 3,526 | 96.21% | 3,387 | 92.41% | 3,665 | |
| 6—Lynn Canal-Icy Straits | 65 | 6.23% | 978 | 93.77% | 913 | 87.54% | 1,043 | |
| Absentee | 63 | 3.64% | 1,669 | 96.36% | 1,606 | 92.73% | 1,732 | |
| SOUTHEASTERN TOTAL | 396 | 3.22% | 11,906 | 96.78% | 11,510 | 93.56% | 12,302 | |
| South- central |
7—Cordova-McCarthy | 63 | 14.86% | 361 | 85.14% | 298 | 70.28% | 424 |
| 8—Valdez-Chitina-Whittier | 194 | 39.11% | 302 | 60.89% | 108 | 21.77% | 496 | |
| 9—Palmer-Wasilla-Talkeetna | 1,504 | 89.95% | 168 | 10.05% | −1,336 | −79.90% | 1,672 | |
| 10—Anchorage | 11,425 | 84.26% | 2,134 | 15.74% | −9,291 | −68.52% | 13,559 | |
| 11—Seward | 255 | 35.27% | 468 | 64.73% | 213 | 29.46% | 723 | |
| 12—Kenal-Cook Inlet | 850 | 66.77% | 423 | 33.23% | −427 | −33.54% | 1,273 | |
| 13—Kodiak | 215 | 30.85% | 482 | 69.15% | 267 | 38.31% | 697 | |
| 14—Aleutian Islands | 119 | 35.95% | 212 | 64.05% | 93 | 28.10% | 331 | |
| Absentee | 522 | 63.12% | 305 | 36.88% | −217 | −26.24% | 827 | |
| SOUTHCENTRAL TOTAL | 15,147 | 75.73% | 4,855 | 24.27% | −10,292 | −51.45% | 20,002 | |
| Central | 15—Bristol Bay | 209 | 53.73% | 180 | 46.27% | −29 | −7.46% | 389 |
| 16—Bethel | 115 | 32.12% | 243 | 67.88% | 128 | 35.75% | 358 | |
| 17—Kuskokwim | 144 | 37.11% | 244 | 62.89% | 100 | 25.77% | 388 | |
| 18—Yukon-Koyukuk | 154 | 25.25% | 456 | 74.75% | 302 | 49.51% | 610 | |
| 19—Fairbanks Northstar | 1,850 | 30.56% | 4,204 | 69.44% | 2,354 | 38.88% | 6,054 | |
| 20—Upper Yukon | 74 | 23.95% | 235 | 76.05% | 161 | 52.10% | 309 | |
| Absentee | 125 | 29.21% | 303 | 70.79% | 178 | 41.59% | 428 | |
| CENTRAL TOTAL | 2,671 | 31.29% | 5,865 | 68.71% | 3,194 | 37.42% | 8,536 | |
| North- western |
21—Barrow | 42 | 15.91% | 222 | 84.09% | 180 | 68.18% | 264 |
| 22—Kobuk | 129 | 27.45% | 341 | 72.55% | 212 | 45.11% | 470 | |
| 23—Nome | 695 | 52.73% | 623 | 47.27% | −72 | −5.46% | 1,318 | |
| 24—Wade Hampton | 77 | 37.56% | 128 | 62.44% | 51 | 24.88% | 205 | |
| Absentee | 8 | 20.00% | 32 | 80.00% | 24 | 60.00% | 40 | |
| NORTHWESTERN TOTAL | 951 | 41.40% | 1,346 | 58.60% | 395 | 17.20% | 2,297 | |
| STATEWIDE TOTAL | 18,865 | 44.04% | 23,972 | 55.96% | 5,107 | 11.92% | 42,837 | |