On Monday Oct. 5, the Supreme Court of the United States demanded another look at Washington State’s legislative district maps. This latest twist in the dispute over the 2021 redistricting process in Washington State, kicked off when the Court decided Louisiana v Callais in April 2026; significantly weakening the federal Voting Rights Act. In this week’s ruling, SCOTUS remands the case about Washington’s maps to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review in light of Callais.

This week’s decision doesn’t change the maps for the 2026 election but could mean that Washington will have new legislative maps before 2028. The next redistricting maps are set to be drawn in 2031 after the 2030 Census is complete.

In 2024, the original case: Soto Palmer v Hobbs↗️, was decided in favor of the Yakima Valley Latino citizens and the districts were redrawn to combine majority Latino communities and give them a chance to elect candidates of their choose.  The 9th U.S. Circuit upheld the decision, concluding race was not the predominant factor in shaping the redrawn map. These rulings have now been scraped, and the courts will reexamine. The original plaintiffs↗️ will continue the fight.

The League of Women Voters of Washington has a long history of pushing for redistricting reform.  Considering the rocky process in 2021, LWVWA is advocating its Take Back the Maps bill proposal in 2027 to change the rules for the Washington State Redistricting Commission to that the process in more visible and more accountable to the people of the state. In the long run, LWVWA would like to see a state constitutional amendment that creates a citizens commission – an expanded commission of ordinary people that increases representation, transparency and puts the needs of the people first. This type of commission would increase trust in our line drawing process and make lengthy legal battles, like we are seeing now, less likely to occur. 

Join the effort by contacting Alison McCaffree, LWVWA Democracy Issue Chair, and attending the Redistricting Reform Task Force meetings↗️.