LWVWA is assembling a broad coalition of individuals and organizations supporting comprehensive reform of Washington’s redistricting. Join us for deep discussion on each of the possible areas of reform.
Redistricting Reform Discussion meetings
Every other Tuesdays from 5:00pm – 6:30pm
Registration Link (same for all meetings):
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAofu6sqjkpEtMr0G6MX5ur3aJ93EIAbX1B
4/12/22 – Criteria & Ranking
4/26/22 – Transparency & Accountability
5/10/22 – Increased Staffing and Technology Support
5/24/22 – Independent Citizen Commission
6/7/22 – Input & Access
We advocate for change in six major categories:
1. Structure: Change the structure of the commission to a ‘citizens commission’. Include commissioners who are non-political operatives and commissioners who do not identify with either of the two major parties. Build a thoughtful and inclusive process to identify and select commissioners.
2. Support: Create a permanent staff to support the commission in data collection and analysis and effective process management. Staff would also keep the public informed throughout the decade.
3. Transparency: Expand process transparency, including open public meeting law training.
4. Criteria: Define in law definitions of redistricting mapping criteria and specifically rank the criteria as to the importance to residents.
5. Public Input: Ensure a comprehensive and inclusive process for public outreach and input.
6. Access: Require multiple translation and interpretive services be available for all public input and information dissemination outlets. This includes working to engage communities who would use these services.
While redistricting relies on technology and data analysis, ultimately human judgment must balance representation among various communities of interest with many needs that sometimes overlap or conflict. Washington’s redistricting commission needs a larger group of people representing communities around the state. We must create a process that inspires trust, a process that holds commissioners accountable to communities, and ultimately, a process that gives voice to the people of Washington State.
If you have any questions. Please contact Alison McCaffree at amccaffree@lwvwa.org
