The process of redistricting is fundamental to your voting power. The last cycle happened in 2021, but now, in March 2024, Washington will have new legislative district lines to be used in 2024 elections. The remedy to the Soto Palmer v Hobbs lawsuit that declared LD15 discriminatory will produce a new central Washington district that will ensure Latino voters can elect a candidate of their choice. There will also be changes in as many as 13 districts that will affect many other people.
The LWVWA supports a fully funded independent citizen redistricting process with enforceable standards that promote timely, fair, and effective representation. In June 2023, LWVWA passed a resolution at our state convention supporting the Redistricting Reform Campaign to restructure our state’s outdated redistricting commission. You can now get involved to help make a new kind of commission a reality. Local Area Teams focused on redistricting are forming all over the state. Please email Alison McCaffree, Redistricting Issue Chair, to find out who to contact in your area.
The success of the Soto Palmer v Hobbs lawsuit that declared a Yakima Valley district discriminatory towards Latino voters forced the redrawing of new legislative districts in central Washington. On February 20, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal so the mapping process will continue. After a hearing on Friday, Feb 9, 2024 the Plaintiff’s Remedial Map 3A, seen in the image above, is the leading candidate for the new legislative map. This map changes 13 districts, including 2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 31—with the most significant changes to districts 14 and 15. The Office of the Secretary of State has confirmed that these lines will displace 5 sitting legislators. A preliminary analysis by the LWVWA shows that over 300,000 people will vote in new districts.
The State deferred to the courts to redraw the maps. The remedial maps comply with redistricting principles and the primary metrics are the same or better than the enacted maps. The final map, will be drawn with assistance of a court appointed special master, Karin Mac Donald, and it is due on March 25, 2024. If changes close to Map 3A are enacted, LD14 will be a district where Latino voters have a very good chance to elect the candidates of their choice. This is a positive outcome! A better process would have created more representative maps in the first place and avoided the disruption to so many voters.
Recent research from USC shows that truly independent citizen redistricting commissions have higher public trust and have resulted in legislatures that are more representative of the people in their state. This Fair Maps report concludes, “The result is a process that empowers communities and reduces the influence of political actors.” The LWVWA supports major redistricting reform, see our redistricting webpage for more information.
