WA legislative redistricting commission failed at the end, but our process is still among the best

The bipartisan state commission charged with redrawing Washington’s voting districts missed its deadline and the historic failure will no doubt be the cause of frustration and unrest in the months to come.

This is so unfortunate.

While the commission managed to agree on new legislative and congressional district boundaries, it did not reveal maps to the public in time. It’s a shame because they were so close to finishing a redistricting process that is among the most fair in the country.

Typically the final draft would go to the Legislature for tweaks and updates before approval, but because the Washington State Redistricting Commission failed to officially adopt a plan before the Monday 11:59 p.m. cutoff, the state Supreme Court will now have the last say.

While the court has until April 30, 2022, to finalize a new legislative district map, it would be best if it didn’t take that long to settle the issue.

If it does, candidates will have less than three weeks to know the boundaries of their legislative and congressional districts before filing week begins in mid-May.

Such short notice makes political juggling tricky, and potentially could keep out citizens who otherwise would have made a run for office.

As it happens, the proposed map the commission drafted would put many Tri-Citians in different legislative districts.

For example, a significant number of Kennewick voters who have been represented in the 8^th Legislative District would end up in the 16^th, which is currently dominated by elected officials in the Walla Walla area.

Also under the new map, much of west Pasco would switch from the 9^th Legislative District to the 8th, which includes Richland and much of Kennewick.

But an eastern section of Pasco would be lumped in with the 15^th Legislative District, which includes Union Gap and part of the city of Yakima.

Those changes — if they happen — will take some getting used to.

We encourage Tri-Citians to take a look at the proposal at redistricting.wa.gov/final-legislative-district-map and see where their address fits.

While the Supreme Court could approve the maps sent to it by the commission, it isn’t required to. However, it would be wise for our court justices to honor the redistricting process and heavily consider the commission’s recommendations.

Setting up new voting districts every 10 years after the census count is a thankless task. Members of the commission messed up right at the end, but they worked hard throughout the year to gather public input and to reach a compromise.

While other states wrestle with gerrymandering, Washington state’s model for setting up new voting maps is among the most fair in the U.S.

Thanks to a voter-approved amendment to the state constitution in 1983, an independent five-member redistricting commission is set up every 10 years to redraw boundaries for both legislative and congressional districts.

Each legislative caucus selects someone to serve on the committee so that there are two Democrats and two Republicans working together. These members pick a nonvoting, bipartisan chair for the committee and then they get going.

This year the Democrat appointments to the commission are April Sims, who serves as secretary treasurer of the Washington State Labor Council, and Brady Piñero Walkinshaw, who served two terms in the Washington state legislature and is now the CEO of Grist, a national environmental media organization.

On the Republican side is Paul Graves, a lawyer and former state representative and Joe Fain, president and CEO of the Bellevue Chamber and a former state senator.

The chair is Sarah Augustine, executive director of the Dispute Resolution Center of Yakima and Kittitas counties.

The commissioners tried to defend their work at a recent news conference, and said late 2020 census data and technical issues — like computers crashing — hindered them at the end.

In addition, they admitted that on the final night their process lacked transparency.

It’s a regrettable end to what typically has been considered one of the most open and just redistricting processes in the country. Now it is up to the Supreme Court to save the outcome, and the sooner, the better.

This story was originally published November 19, 2021 at 1:30 PM.