The Washington Supreme Court approved the congressional and legislative district maps created by the state’s bipartisan redistricting commission, declining to exercise its authority to draw new political boundaries.
Using the 2020 census data, the Washington State Redistricting Commission was charged with drawing and approving the state’s district maps by midnight Nov. 15. The commission published and unanimously agreed to new maps but narrowly missed the deadline to adopt them, which gave the court the jurisdiction to craft the new districting plan by April 30.
In a unanimous five-page ruling, the court found the commission “substantially complied with the statutory deadline” by voting to approve the redistricting plans by the Nov. 15 deadline, even though the plans were not transmitted to the state legislature on time. The order also directs the redistricting commission to complete any remaining work necessary to transmit the final report to the state legislature. Once the legislature receives the final report, it will have the opportunity to make small tweaks to the maps with two-thirds vote of both chambers.
The court ruling emphasizes the state’s redistricting process is best addressed by the bipartisan commission, who is appointed by the state legislature and considers public testimony. The court also stated “the primary purpose of achieving a timely redistricting plan would be impeded by rejecting the Commission’s completed work.”
However, the order only weighed the commission’s compliance with the midnight Nov. 15 deadline required by state law and not the entirety of the redistricting statute, which leaves the maps open to lawsuits. At least one lawsuit has been filed to date.
Regardless, the court’s decision provides clarity on the state’s new political boundaries, which will be in place for the next decade.
View the bipartisan redistricting commission’s final district maps here.