Washington Supreme Court Won’t Redraw Political Maps, Will Accept Redistricting Commission’s Work
Redistricting Justice for Washington, a coalition of progressive groups advocating for underrepresented communities, said in a news release it plans to “pursue multiple lines of legal action” to challenge the commission maps.
In statements Friday, some leaders of that coalition strongly criticized the court’s decision to accept the commission’s work, citing both the equity issues and the lack of transparency.
“We hoped that the Supreme Court would recognize that these maps violated the law and unjustly diluted community voices here in Yakima,” said Giovanni Severino, a Yakima organizer with Progreso: Latino Progress.
Kamau Chege, director of Washington Community Alliance, said the commission “lacks credibility and their final maps are a stain on our democracy that can’t be ignored. Washingtonians deserve better.”
But legislative leaders generally praised the court decision for bringing the redistricting process to a timely close.
