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.
Contents The proposal appeared on the ballot as follows:
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.
By election district Region Election districtForAgainstMarginTotal#%#%#% 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-central7—Cordova-McCarthy 63 14.86% 361 85.14% 298 70.28% 4248—Valdez-Chitina-Whittier 194 39.11% 302 60.89% 108 21.77% 4969—Palmer-Wasilla-Talkeetna 1,504 89.95% 168 10.05% −1,336 −79.90% 1,67210—Anchorage 11,425 84.26% 2,134 15.74% −9,291 −68.52% 13,55911—Seward 255 35.27% 468 64.73% 213 29.46% 72312—Kenal-Cook Inlet 850 66.77% 423 33.23% −427 −33.54% 1,27313—Kodiak 215 30.85% 482 69.15% 267 38.31% 69714—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 15,14775.73%4,85524.27%−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 TOTAL18,86544.04%23,97255.96%5,10711.92%42,837
See also List of Alaska ballot measures
References