Redistricting plans to bring changes

Every 10 years, the bipartisan Washington State Redistricting Commission is established to redraw the state’s legislative and congressional districts. Four commissioners are appointed by the legislature, and those four then appoint a fifth as chairperson. The chairperson position is non-partisan and has no vote. The commissioners meet in Olympia.

In addition to the commissioners, members of the public were encouraged to participate in the process by attending the meetings or submitting their own third-party plans through the commission’s website. Approximately 20 third-party plans were submitted between May and mid-August of this year.

On September 13, 2011, each commissioner proposed a draft redistricting plan. The Commissioners narrowed those four legislative maps down to two at their October 14, 2011 meeting. They have not made any proposed changes to the four congressional maps released at their September 13, 2011 meeting.

There are currently two redistricting proposals under consideration by the official Redistricting Commission. For Lincoln County, the two legislative maps are very different, placing the county in either the 7th or the 13th Legislative District.

Under the plan devised by two of the commissioners, former U.S. Senator Slade Gorton and former state representative Tom Huff, Lincoln County remains in the 7th Legislative District. In Spokane County, however, the West Plains (currently also in the 7th) are placed in another district, while a suburban area south of Deer Park is included in the 7th. Most of Okanogan County also moves to another district, except for the far northeast corner around Wauconda.

Two other commissioners, former deputy mayor of Seattle Tim Ceis and Dean Foster, a member of the 2001 Redistricting Commission, have devised a plan that would add Lincoln County to the 13th District, along with Grant and Kittitas Counties, Yakima County north of Highway 12 and the southeast half of Douglas County. The 13th District would extend from Sprague to Snoqualmie Pass, along the I-90 corridor.

The Commissioners have set a goal of November to agree on a final plan. The Constitutional deadline for submitting the plans to the Legislature is January 1, 2012.

Third-party plans are no longer being accepted, but public input is still possible through the commission’s website at http://www.redistricting.wa.gov. Maps can be viewed and downloaded, and contact with the commissioners is also possible.

Redistricting is to be completed by no later than June 2012. At that time, the Commission will cease to exist. In 2021, a new commission will be appointed to ensure that Washington residents receive fair representation in both the U.S. Congress and the state Legislature.