The Washington Supreme Court will not exercise its authority to redraw the state’s congressional and legislative district maps, leaving in place the work of the bipartisan redistricting commission.
In a unanimous ruling Friday, the court found the commission had substantially met its legal obligations by voting on a map framework just before the midnight Nov. 15 deadline — despite the panel not revealing its maps publicly prior to the vote and acknowledging that final work on completing them continued after the deadline. The decision lifts some uncertainty over the new boundaries for the state’s 10 congressional districts and 49 legislative districts, which will be in place for the next decade, beginning with the 2022 midterm elections.
But the court order does not shut the door on legal challenges under the federal Voting Rights Act or other laws. Some voting rights activists have said the commission fell short of creating a Central Washington legislative district giving majority Latinos enough clout to elect their favored candidates. The court order directed that the redistricting commission complete “any remaining tasks necessary” to finish its work. That will include a final report to the state Legislature, which can make small tweaks to the commission maps with a two-thirds vote of both chambers.
Under state law, the court could have restarted the mapmaking process by ignoring the commission’s work and appointing an expert to draw new maps. It could have taken until April 30 to complete that work. (Seattle Times)
