WA Supreme Court accepts redistricting maps that violate Voting Rights Act
On Friday morning, the Washington State Supreme Court announced that it was declining to draw a new redistricting plan for the state, and instead would defer to the late map proposal compiled by the Redistricting Commission. The Court concluded that the Commission did effectively meet the legal deadline of November 15, despite the fact that the Commission voted on a secretive “framework” that had not actually been compiled into maps, and the Commission did not formally transmit the plan to the legislature until after midnight.
The Court admitted to not considering the constitutionality of the maps, despite many community leaders and voting rights experts stating that it may violate the federal Voting Rights Act. In particular, the maps almost certainly violate the VRA in the Yakima Valley area, where the proposed legislative districts likely do not enable Latino voters to elect their candidates of choice. The maps also reject countless public testimony asking to adjoin the Yakama Nation with the Yakima Lower Valley.
The Redistricting Justice for Washington coalition is prepared to pursue multiple lines of legal action to fight for Washington communities who have been under-served by the redistricting process. RJW intends to highlight for the Supreme Court of Washington that, in fact, the Commission did not meet the deadline prescribed by the Constitution and that the Commission may have violated the Open Public Meetings Act. RJW intends to continue advocating for community-based maps across the state that will meaningfully provide communities of interest throughout Washington with better representation.
Regardless of the outcome, RJW is prepared to aggressively pursue a Federal Voting Rights Act Section 2 claim against the Commission’s proposed map for the Central Washington region, where the creation of a performing majority-minority CVAP district is mandated.
Community leaders shared the following statements:
Kamau Chege, Director, Washington Community Alliance
“We are disappointed by the Supreme Court’s decision not to intervene. The Court's decision might be a procedural one, but it has substantive ramifications for our democracy. The maps produced by the Commission were found to likely violate the voting rights of communities in Central Washington. The Commission lacks credibility and their final maps are a stain on our democracy that can’t be ignored. Washingtonians deserve better.”
Margot Spindola, Organizer, Latino Community Fund; Co-Lead, Redistricting Justice for Washington
“First, the Commissioners told us they voted on a “framework”, then they said it was a “redistricting plan”, and then we learned that the Chair of the Commission didn’t see any maps until they were uploaded to their website a day past the deadline, according to her sworn declaration. But here’s what we do know: these maps are illegitimate, the process violated the spirit of the Open Public Meetings Act, and independent analysis demonstrates they will violate the voting rights of Latinos in the Yakima Valley. Community groups are ready to bring legal challenges to protect the voting rights of Washingtonians if these maps are adopted by the legislature.
Andrew Hong, Co-Lead, Redistricting Justice for Washington
“It’s concerning that the Court ruled that the Commission successfully finalized their “plan” by the 11:59 deadline when, in their own order, the transmittal letter to the Legislature was approved after the deadline at 12:01am. Additionally, this ‘plan’ lacked any maps or written agreements until well after midnight, and therefore there is every reason to view them as illegitimate. In the meantime, we are actively exploring a VRA lawsuit against the Commission’s proposed Yakima-area, VRA-noncompliant 14th and 15th legislative districts.”
Giovanni Severino, Yakima Organizer with Progreso: Latino Progress
“We hoped that the Supreme Court would recognize that these maps violated the law and unjustly diluted community voices here in Yakima. This goes to show that the Commission wasn’t accountable and meanwhile real people’s lives are being affected. This year’s redistricting process did not take public input seriously in drawing the final maps. I’m disappointed in the level of inaction regarding the maps as they did minimal work to prevent the voices of Latinos from being stifled in the political process.”
Colin Cole, Policy Director with More Equitable Democracy
“There are serious legal questions to be raised about whether there was merely a thirteen-minute clerical delay of a properly-completed process or if there were missteps and violations of the procedures outlined in the Constitution by the Redistricting Commission. The Redistricting Commission initially said they voted on a redistricting “framework” Monday night, but later changed their language to say they voted on a “redistricting plan.” In matters of redistricting, a “redistricting plan” does not refer to a framework guiding deliberation, it refers to specific map proposals. That’s a critical linguistic distinction - and one consistent with the Washington State Constitution as well as federal redistricting jurisprudence.”
