Five new maps proposed for Central Washington redistricting

Wider impact 

In a court brief, Secretary of State Steven Hobbs outlined the impact redrawing the maps will have on the 14th District and its neighboring districts, whose boundaries will change as a result. The brief was based on an analysis by Nick Pharris, who works in the Elections Division of the Office of the Secretary of State. 

In the document, they outline the countries impacted by each proposal. In all five proposals, Yakima, Benton and Klickitat Counties are impacted. Franklin, Adams, and Grant are impacted by four proposals, as are Clark, King, Pierce, and Thurston counties, namely due to redrawn lines that cross the Cascades into Western Washington. 

Among the incumbents in the Legislature who would be displaced is State Sen. Nikki Torres, a Latina who was elected in the redrawn 15th Legislative District in 2022. Torres’ attorneys have asked the court to allow Torres to intervene in the case. In a court filing, Torres’ attorney said implementing any of the proposals would make her reelection in 2026 “more difficult — if not impossible.” Attorneys say four of the proposed maps would move her out of the 15th. One proposal does allow her to remain in the 15th District, which would no longer be a Latino voter-majority district. 

In filing for appeals in both the U.S. Court of Appeals Ninth District and the U.S. Supreme Court, conservative Latino voters contend that the case is a veiled attempt to get more Democrats elected in Central Washington. They point to the election of Torres, a Latina Republican, as an indicator that the minority-majority district is already performing. 

They also point to the districts displacing several Republican incumbents in Central Washington as showing the Democrats’ intent. In a court filing, the Republican filing also noted that 10 Republicans, including all three legislators in both the 14th and 15th districts, would be moved into new districts by at least one of the proposed new maps. 

However, the Palmer plaintiffs’ analysis shows that even with the changes, the overall partisan flavor of Central Washington would remain Republican. In addition, they say Torres will be able to finish out her term until it expires in 2026. 

“Since nearly every legislator surrounding [the 14th and 15th districts] is Republican, Republican districts are necessarily impacted,” attorneys for the Palmer plaintiffs wrote in a court filing. “But all the partisan efforts outside [the districts] are marginal and inconsequential.” 

The attorneys also point out that Lasnik did not buy into conservative arguments that Torres’ election meant the 15th District was compliant with voting rights laws. In his ruling, Lasnik said the progress in Latino representation in the state Legislature doesn’t negate roadblocks voters continue to experience in the 15th district. 

What’s next 

Lasnik, with the help of Mac Donald, the voting expert, will now evaluate the proposal maps — and the rebuttals and responses to those proposals. The court aims to adopt a new redistricting map and transmit it to the Secretary of State’s office by March 25, so the new map can be used for 2024 elections. 

The Republican intervenors continue to pursue an appeal of Lasnik’s ruling; however, with the remedial map process underway, that group filed a motion to put the appeals process on hold temporarily while the U.S. District Court completes its process. 

The intervenors said they plan to appeal the Court’s decision on a new redistricting plan and then consolidate it with their appeal of the original ruling on the Palmer case. 

Intervenors also have an appeal of Palmer before the U.S. Supreme Court. A separate request for a related case, Garcia vs. Hobbs, which was deemed moot by the ruling on Palmer, was also appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Justices are expected to discuss both requests during its conference — when they decide which cases to review — this Friday.