CONTACT: Sen. John Braun, 360-508-6540 | johnbraun@braunnw.com

March 15, 2024 - The decision from Judge Robert Lasnik in the Soto Palmer case was just handed down today.  The case draws new boundaries for thirteen Washington state legislative districts.

Since the judge drew a new overall map, the exact Hispanic population numbers and political numbers are not known at the time of this drafting.  But the new 3B map makes minor alterations to the 3A map already before the court (176 residents moved).  Therefore, the 3A numbers will be used in this statement.  

For purposes of the statistics below, the comparisons are between the district the judge makes the one with the highest Hispanic Citizen Voting Age Population (HCVAP) – Legislative District 14 – and the district which the Redistricting Commission made with the highest HCVAP – District 15.  In essence, Judge Lasnik swaps Legislative Districts 15 and 14.

• LOWERS the numbers of Hispanics from the current 52.6% to 50.2%.

• Moves the first eastern Washington Latina elected Senator – Senator Nikki Torres – from the district which she won handily into a wholly new district with another incumbent Republican Senator – LD 16. 

• Redistricts out Sen. Curtis King (LD 14).

• Redistricts out Sen. Brad Hawkins (LD 12).

• Likely redistricts out three Republican House members.

• Eliminates the Yakima Valley district that is a “toss-up”  swing district (+1.8% GOP) and packs the other Yakima Valley district, which is already heavily Republican (+9.4% GOP), with more Republicans (+21.7% GOP).   This allows the “toss-up” district to become solidly Democrat (+12%). 

• Transforms a SW Washington district (LD 17) and another central Washington district (LD 12) into much more competitive districts for Democrats.

• Makes a massive disruption of people throughout the state.  More than 500,000 people are moved affecting 13 districts – 12 of which are Republican and 1 Democrat.  In comparison, the intervenors offered a map with around 80,000 people moved in only three districts.  The intervenor map was rejected.  Legally, maps are supposed to make the minimal changes needed to remedy the violation. 

• Affects only Republican legislators with being redistricted out of their districts.  No Democratic legislators are redistricted out.

Sen. Braun had these remarks about the judge’s decision.

“This case constitutes harassment of Washington state’s first Latina Senator elected in eastern Washington.

“Senator Nikki Torres started out in the fields of eastern Washington and through her own hard work built a successful career.  In 2022 she was elected to the Washington State Senate with over 67% of the vote.  She has been an absolute rock star in the Senate.  

“She is a compassionate legislator who understands the struggles of her constituents because she went through them.  In a very short time she has become an incredibly able legislator who focuses on issues like getting justice for her constituents by increasing the number of public defenders and prosecutors.  She fights to decrease the number of victims by increasing training to prevent sexual trafficking.

“That this judge would allow the Voting Rights Act to be used to redistrict Sen. Torres out of her district is frankly outrageous.  The Voting Rights Act was designed to help our minority citizens, not disenfranchise them.  In this case, the judge also reduces the number of Hispanics in central Washington’s majority-minority district.

“This decision should be immediately stayed and deserves to be overturned by a higher court.

“The other tragedy of this process is the harm it has done to Washington state redistricting.”

“Judge Lasnik got one thing right in his decision.  He said that “the Court was compelled to step in” “because the State declined to reconvene the Redistricting Commission.”

“Senate and House Democrats refused to reconvene the bipartisan Redistricting panel because they knew that the bipartisan mechanism in it would foil their desire for gerrymandered maps.  This decision is not a repudiation of the Commission.  It is a repudiation of current Democratic legislative leadership.

“This lawsuit is the result of Democrat buyer’s remorse over the bipartisan Redistricting Commission which the voters instituted in 1983 with the passage of SJR 103.  Democrats and Republicans supported the Commission then.

“The voters wanted the Commission because they wanted to take away the power of political parties to gerrymander political maps.  They wanted a fair, bipartisan process where neither side could impose their will on the other.  No one party was supposed to be advantaged in the redistricting process which takes place every 10 years.

“In 2021 at the close of the redistricting process, Democrats were faced with the prospect of fair maps.  They wanted more.  They wanted a supermajority so they could pass a constitutional amendment to allow an income tax, triple the rate of increase of property taxes and bring more far left, progressive policies to the state of Washington.  This is not the political balance the people of Washington are asking for.

By media accounts, one of their Commissioners gamed the system so the Commission could not reach agreement by its midnight deadline.  Democrats used that as an excuse to ask the state Supreme Court to take over the process.

“The state Supreme Court wisely declined and let the Redistricting maps stand.”

“Democrat allies then sought to invalidate the Commission’s maps through an abuse of the Voting Rights Act.  The premise was that somehow the Commission’s maps “cracked” the Hispanic population in the Yakima Valley, diluting their voting power.  Their solution?  Crack the population further and REDUCE the amount of Hispanics in the Yakima Valley’s majority-minority district.  That and redistrict out the Valley’s popular and accomplished Latina Senator.

“The premise for this is that the “Prefered Latino candidate” is a Democrat.  This is absolutely not supported by current polling – nor by Sen. Torres’ 2-1 victory over a white Democrat.  A recent NY Times/Siena national poll found that only 20% of Hispanics describe themselves as liberal, 44% as moderate and 30% as conservative.  

“This case was all about sheer political power.  Democrats want more of it.  They want a super majority in the legislature if they can get it.  And they found a federal judge willing to give it to them.

“I am sure that Judge Lasnik has had a distinguished judicial career.  But this decision is a black mark on that career.  Frankly, the decision is shameful.”

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