GOP, Dems Clash Over Washington Redistricting Proposals

OLYMPIA, WA — The once-in-a-decade effort to redistrict Washington state is off to a contentious start, with the Democrats and Republicans of the Washington State Redistricting Commission accusing each other of trying to gerrymander the state to benefit their own political parties.

As the Washington State Wire reports, the commission's four commissioners — two Democrats and two Republicans — each released their own proposed redistricting map Tuesday. The four only have until Nov. 15 to agree on a solution. If they can't the state Supreme Court will have to be called in to do it for them.

Unfortunately for commissioners, finding common ground may be difficult, as each party is accusing the other of trying to rig the redistricting in their favor. State Democratic Party Chair Tina Podlodowski called the GOP plan “gerrymandering”, while State Republican Party Chair Caleb Heimlich called Democrat's proposals “the definition of political hackery”, the Seattle Times reported.

Each of Washington's 49 districts is required by law to be as close to a population target of 157,251 as possible — on that the maps agree, but how they divide the population up is dramatically different.

As the Washington State Wire reports, GOP maps from House Republican Caucus Appointee Paul Graves and Senate Republican Caucus Appointee Joe Fain focus more on emphasizing competitive districts, giving the GOP a better shot at winning traditionally-blue districts.

"Our politics are polarized, and a major reason is non-competitive districts," said Graves. "By making more districts competitive, more Washingtonians get to vote in up-for-grabs races, candidates and parties must work harder for their votes, and legislators will be encouraged to listen to all of their constituents."

Graves's map would draw 22 incumbents out of their current districts, most of whom are Democrats, the Seattle Times reported.

Meanwhile, House Democratic Caucus Appointee April Sims and Senate Democratic Caucus Appointee Brady Piñero Walkinshaw say their focus was in fair representation, and recognizing traditionally-underrepresented communities of color. Sims map, for example, incorporates feedback from Tribal councils, uniting Yakima reservation land into one district, but maintaining a 2-district split for Colville and Chehalis reservations.

"This proposed map establishes nine majority POC legislative districts, including one majority Hispanic district in Yakima that is united with the Yakama Nation reservation," Sims said. "By lifting up the voices of those often under-represented and respecting the racially diverse area of South King County, the map draws four majority POC districts in the region, providing an opportunity for fair representation in one of the state’s most diverse areas."

Sims map, however, would make it tougher for some incumbent Republicans, like state Sen. Doug Ericksen (R-Ferndale), to keep their seats, the Times reported.

Regardless of if the commissioners can find common ground or if the state Supreme Court is called in to resolve the issue, the new districts will be in place for the 2022 midterm elections.