Redistricting Commission Announces Key Dates – Now that the Census Bureau has finally released the final data required for drawing maps in our redistricting process, our state’s bipartisan Redistricting Commission has announced important meeting dates for presenting their map proposals and soliciting feedback:
- Tuesday, September 21 – Commissioners will each release their proposed state legislative district map.
- Tuesday, September 28 – Commissioners will each release their proposed congressional district map.
- Tuesday, October 5 (7 p.m.) – Statewide Virtual Public Outreach Meeting to receive feedback on state legislative map proposals.
- Saturday, October 9 (10 a.m.) – Statewide Virtual Public Outreach Meeting to receive feedback on congressional map proposals.
- Friday, October 22 – Deadline to ensure full consideration of third-party map submissions by the Commission.
- Monday, November 15 (11:59 p.m.) – Deadline for Commission to submit final maps to the Legislature.
We all need to have these dates on our calendars because the map proposals we see from the commissioners this month and the feedback they receive from the public in October will be critical for laying out the political groundwork for the next decade in Washington. Local party organizations need to be aware of what’s being proposed in their legislative and Congressional districts, and ready to provide feedback to ensure that the maps are representing communities of interest and drawing lines that let Democrats fairly compete.
As these dates come, we’ll be working with our state party’s Redistricting Committee to share information out to all our local party organizations about what we see being proposed and how they can get involved, but tracking these key dates is the first step. In the meantime, the redistricting commission has made a “Draw Your WA” tool where the public can advocate on behalf of your communities of interest by drawing the boundaries of areas that should stay together. You can use the tool here: https://www.redistricting.wa.gov/participate/draw-your-wa
Our state party’s Redistricting Committee hosted a great webinar training on how to use the Draw Your WA tool, along with third-party mapping software like the free Dave’s Redistricting tool. We encourage folks who want to get involved and learn more about redistricting and their communities to watch the webinar here.