U.S. Appeals Court won’t block WA’s new legislative district map
An appeals court will not block a U.S. District Court ruling from earlier this month that the state must adopt Remedial Map 3B, which connects the Latino communities along the Yakima Valley. (Courtesy of the Campaign Legal Center)
A redrawn Washington legislative district map selected by a U.S. District Court judge earlier this month will be used in elections this year. The U.S. Court of Appeals has announced it will not step in to block the decision.
However, the three-judge appeals panel, in its order Friday evening, allowed a group of conservative Latinos to continue its appeal efforts.
The new maps create a Latino-voter-majority district in the Yakima Valley that aligns with federal voting rights laws. U.S. District Court Judge Robert Lasnik sided with Latino voters who sued the state in January 2022, saying the district, as drawn by the bipartisan Washington State Redistricting Commission in 2021, diluted Latino voter power.
Under the new map, Legislative District 14 unites Latino communities in Central Washington from the east part of Yakima to Pasco in neighboring Franklin County, including Latino communities along the Lower Yakima Valley. The map also switched the Latino-majority district from the 15th to the 14th to ensure that state Senate elections fall on a presidential election year when the turnout of Latino voters is higher.
A group of conservative Latino voters, which included State Rep. Alex Ybarra, intervened in the case and opposed the map, stating that it was an attempt by Democrats to gain power in conservative Central Washington districts. That argument did not get much traction in the original court case or the remedial map process. Intervenors, however, will now have an opportunity to lay out their argument for the appeals process. According to a court document, conservative voters must file opening briefs by June 7, with responses due in early July.