Opinion ID: 1239200
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 15

Heading: Determination of Resident Characteristics of Military Personnel

Text: The second instruction from the Court is that the Masters should inquire whether or not the number of nonresident military personnel included in the 1970 Census can be determined. (Emphasis added.) A conscientious and protracted effort was made to arrive at such a determination from the official census data and other appropriate sources. This investigation started with a consideration of the various definitions of residence; a study of the trends and the position of the military as a whole in the population and economy of Alaska over the past three decades: and inquiry into the length of tour-of-duty and the mobility characteristics of the military population in Alaska; and finally a comparison of military and civilian voting behavior. The investigation concluded with an analysis and evaluation of the effects of three different population bases (civilian population, civilian plus part of the military, and total population) upon the district representation patterns under the 1971 reapportionment plan.