Alaska Cook Inlet State Capital Initiative (1960)
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The Alaska Cook Inlet State Capital Initiative, or Initiative 1, appeared on the statewide primary ballot in 1960 in Alaska, where it was defeated. 44% voted "yes". It was the first initiative ever to appear on an Alaskan ballot.
The language on the ballot said, "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."
1960 election results
| Alaska Cook Inlet State Capital Initiative (1960) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes or no | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | - | 44% | ||
 No
| - | 56% | ||
| Total votes | - | 100% precincts | ||
Ballot initiatives about moving state capitol
In 1960, Anchorage Daily Times publisher Robert Atwood began an editorial push to relocate the capital away from Juneau and somewhere nearer to commerce and the Alaskan mainstream.
Between 1960 and 2002, six ballot initiatives and three legislative referrals regarding the location and costs of Alaska's state capitol have been on the Alaskan ballot.
After the Cook Inlet initiative failed, fans of relocating the capitol tried again two years later, with the State Capitol Relocation Initiative, this time proposing a move to "western Alaska" but not "within thirty miles of Anchorage". This proposal also earned 44% of the vote.
In 1978, Alaskans voted in favor of an initiative, the Alaska Cost of Relocating State Capitol (1978) by a margin of 55.7%. This measure said that any and all costs of moving the capitol must be determined prior to making a decision.
In 1994, Alaskans came back with another measure, Costs of Moving State Capitol, also requiring a determination of the cost of moving the capitol. The same year, 1994, Alaskans rejected the opportunity to move the state capitol to Wasilla.
The most recent initiative, which failed, was in 2002 when the Initiative to Move Locations of Legislative Sessions was on the ballot.[1],[2]
