Ruling on controversial WA voter map that forced out Tri-Cities Latina senator
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Latino voters win case to uphold redrawn Washington map supporting Latino voter strength.
- Appeals court ruled challengers lacked standing to contest 2024 district lines.
- Senator Nikki Torres was excluded from her district and has to move as a result of the redistricting.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in favor of a group of Latino voters in the Yakima Valley, saying a newly drawn legislative district does not discriminate on the basis of race.
The new boundaries for the 15th Legislative District were used in the 2024 election and will stay in place under the decision in the Palmer v. Trevino federal lawsuit.
But it means GOP state Sen. Nikki Torres of the 15th District will have to move if she wants to run again in 2026 if she wants to represent that district.
In 2022, Susan Soto Palmer and others originally sued Washington state and Secretary of State Steven Hobbs. They argued that the 15th District map violated the Voting Rights Act because redistricting diluted the voting strength of Latino voters.
The voters claimed the 2021 Washington State Redistricting Commission “cracked” apart the Yakima Valley’s Latino communities when redrawing the district and excluded heavier Latino communities in exchange for whiter ones.
Hispanics made up just barely half of the district’s citizen voting age after the 2021 redraw.
Soto Palmer’s group proposed a new district map. The U.S. District Court of Western Washington approved the new boundaries with minor changes, including adding Yakama Nation trust lands.
The map was intended to form legislative districts with more Latino voters. But many Republicans in the state cried foul, claiming it was “all to help the Democratic Party gain seats towards a super majority in the Legislature,” Torres said at the time.
Challengers appeal
Then, three other Yakima Valley voters challenged the district court’s controverisal decision.
They alleged that the new map violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Voting Rights Act, claiming it was “racial gerrymandering.”
The Ninth Circuit found that the group appealing had no standing because the group didn’t show they were harmed by the redistricting.
“In sum, the district court’s remedial map did not discriminate on the basis of race in violation of the Equal Protection Clause, and we affirm the district court,” U.S. Circuit Judge M. Margaret McKeown wrote in the court’s opinion published Wednesday.
Redistricting outcomes
Between 2022 and 2024, the 15th Legislative District stretched from Pasco to Yakima, and encompassed large swaths of the Hanford nuclear site and the Othello area.
But the map was ordered to be redrawn by Judge Robert Lasnik, of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle, in 2023.
The new map, which was used in 2024 elections, redrew the 15th Legislative District to include more of the Yakima Valley.
One consequence was that it unseated Torres. District 15 no longer includes Torres’ north Pasco property. She now lives in the 16th Legislative District.
“The courts denied that any harm was actually done to those involved in the case. However, when those of us with real harm asked to join the case, the courts denied our request,” Torres wrote in a statement to the Tri-City Herald on Wednesday.
“It remains clear that what is happening here is gerrymandering at its finest. The Latino community was significantly affected by this gerrymandering a district with 52% percent Latino is now at 50%.”
“While we are still reviewing the ruling and considering next steps, I believe enough injustice has already occurred. My community deserves a fair, balanced and fiscally responsible senator in Olympia. Earlier this year, I announced my reelection campaign, and that has not changed. I will be moving to the new district and will continue seeking reelection.”
This story was originally published August 28, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
