Washington State has a new legislative map. The new map changes thirteen legislative districts with the most significant changes to LD 14 and LD 15. The Office of the Secretary of State has confirmed that these lines will displace five sitting legislators. An analysis by The League of Women Voters of Washington shows that nearly 500,000 voters are affected by the changes.
How did we get here?
These changes are the result of a lawsuit that successfully challenged the 2021 maps as being in violation of Section 2 of the federal Voting Rights Act. The U.S. District Court ruled that the 15th district in Yakima was discriminatory towards Latino voters, forcing the redrawing of legislative districts in central Washington. A newly drawn LD14 satisfies the court’s requirement that Latino voters have a good chance to elect the candidates of their choice. Creating this district caused a ripple effect, as the changes swirled through surrounding districts to balance population numbers.
This lawsuit was one of several that challenged the work of the 2021 Redistricting Commission. The commission failed to meet its deadline, shifting the responsibility for drawing maps to the court. Moreover, commissioners were fined for violations of
Washington’s Open Public Meetings Act.
This is not good governance.
The current Washington State Redistricting Commission is often described as independent. It is not. While it is true that Commissioners are not elected officials and are not part of the legislature, the Commission is not free from partisan influence. Commissioners are put in place by the two dominant parties, with work facilitated by a nonvoting chair.
Records from 2021 tell us that Washington State legislators and their staff members were in regular contact with Commissioners, essentially lobbying for partisan interests. There was no public view into these discussions or deliberations. We do not know what criteria were used to draw the lines. We do know that the Commissioners worked in partisan pairs, ultimately voting on incomplete maps that neither they nor the public had seen.
The bottom line is this: an ineffective and opaque redistricting process resulted in maps that have been successfully challenged in court as not representative of the people they are designed to serve.
There is a better way.
The League of Women of Washington (LWVWA) has been a leader in redistricting, working for improved processes for more than 60 years. In 2017, LWVWA released a Report on Redistricting that concluded there is a need to “move from the state’s bipartisan system to a more nearly nonpartisan, independent System.” Following the failed 2021 redistricting process, Washington League members passed a resolution supporting a redistricting reform campaign.
The League is calling for a new type of redistricting commission – a People First Commission, with expanded representation beyond the current two-party structure. Polls taken over the last decade show that about 40% of Washington State voters identify as independent of the two major parties. Creating a commission that includes a broad selection of residents would minimize partisan influence. Let’s add to that a defined and ranked list of map-drawing criteria, adequate resources, and heightened transparency requirements. The result will be a better process, better governance, and maps that work for all of us.
Recent research from the University of Southern California tells us 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.”
If you agree that change is needed, join our Local Action Team. See our
Redistricting committee page for more information.