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Voters in South Thurston County currently represented in the 20th Legislative District will be absorbed into the Second Legislative District after a federal judge approved a new legislative map Friday.
The shift in Southwest Washington’s legislative boundaries is just one of many in the state and comes after a federal judge's ruling that the previous map violated the rights of voters in south-central Washington. The case, Soto Palmer v. Hobbs, centered around the 15th Legislative District, which stretches from Yakima to Pasco.
In August, a judge found the current maps split the region’s Hispanic population between multiple districts, diluting their voting power. The new map will connect Latino communities from East Yakima in Yakima County to Pasco in Franklin County.
In a statement Friday, the UCLA Voting Rights Project (UCLA VRP), which brought the lawsuit, said the selected map “was preferred for its ability to consolidate Latino communities into a unified district, thereby enhancing their voting strength and ensuring their voices are heard in legislative processes.”
“We are thrilled with the Judge’s decision to adopt Map 3B. This ruling is not just a victory for the Latino communities in Washington state, but it also sends hope to all underrepresented communities fighting for fair representation in the United States,” said Sonni Waknin, program manager and voting rights counsel at the UCLA VRP. “This case underscores the importance of safeguarding the rights of all citizens to participate in our democracy equitably. It serves as a powerful reminder that UCLA VRP’s fight for justice in the voting arena can yield transformative results. We are proud to have played a role in this historic achievement and remain committed to advocating for the voting rights of marginalized communities across the nation.”
Fifteenth District Sen. Nikki Torres, R-Pasco, wrote in a statement Friday she was “personally very disappointed in Judge Laznik.
“He allowed the misuse of the Voting Rights Act to allow a partisan gerrymander of the Washington state redistricting map,” Torres wrote. “This map DECREASES the numbers of Hispanics in Washington’s Majority-Minority district.”
According to Torres, the new map will potentially redistrict three Republican senators and representatives, and eliminate a toss-up district. At least one senator, Sen. Brad Hawkins, R-East Wenatchee, announced plans Friday to move to seek reelection to his current seat in the fall.
“This is a ridiculous lawsuit and ruling, but I’m not going to let an activist group from Los Angeles and an over-eager federal judge keep me from serving the people here. I believe the judge’s decision will eventually be overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, but it will unfortunately take several months to work through that process,” Hawkins said in a release. “This is a politically-driven lawsuit and outcome, one I had always hoped the judicial system was completely separate from, but now I’m not so sure.”
According to Torres, the new map will impact more than 500,000 people in 13 districts — 12 of which are represented by Republicans.
“This map DISENFRANCHISES Hispanics – all to help the Democratic Party gain seats towards a supermajority in the legislature,” Torres wrote. “I presume Judge Laznik made this decision under the guise that a ‘Preferred Latino Candidate’ was a Democrat and the VRA mandated that the Majority Minority district become more Democratic.”
According to Torres, the map adopted Friday ignores Hispanic residents’ status as a “swing block of voters.”
“This decision actually discriminates against eastern Washington Hispanics and assigns stereotypes given to them by their more liberal neighbors on the west side of the state,” Torres said. “For a group of people who claim to want to know about the lived experience of their neighbors, they seem to want to ignore ours in their thirst for political power.”
In a statement Friday, the Washington state GOP said they were “disturbed to read the opinion issued today by federal Judge Robert Lasnik in the matter of our state's recent legislative redistricting plan.”
“Today, with one hasty opinion based on a map drawn by an ‘expert’ from the East Coast and ignoring the voices of people in Washington, one judge in Seattle has wrecked one of our state's great traditions,” the statement says. “Lasnik's opinion is a mistake. It needs to be stayed and appealed. A less-partisan appeals court will likely demand a more reasonable solution to the state's redistricting questions.”
Following the court’s decision, The Chronicle reached out to Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, for comment. In a statement, 20th District Rep. Peter Abbarno, R-Centralia, said he was still reviewing the decision.
“I don’t think anyone knows the full impact of the court’s decision in this matter since we are all trying to analyze the newly adopted map. The change clearly had a ripple effect and even changed my own 20th Legislative District,” Abbarno wrote. “Knowing the case and the base map from which the court made its decision, I have concern’s the court’s decision was not the least disruptive remedy and had an overly partisan impact. We will know more in the coming days and weeks.”
In a September interview with The Chronicle, Braun said the legislature’s decision not to convene a special session to adopt new legislative maps was a “dereliction of duty.”
