For the first time ever, the Washington State Redistricting Commission failed to adopt a new statewide districting plan by the statutory deadline.
The Washington State Redistricting Commission issued a statement on November 16 acknowledging that they were unable to adopt a districting
plan by the deadline. In the statement, the Commission recognized that the Washington Supreme Court now has jurisdiction to adopt a districting plan.
Citing the delay in receiving 2020 census data along with other technical challenges, the Commission noted that the responsibility to adopt districting plans now falls to the Washington Supreme Court. The Supreme Court will have until April 30 to develop a final plan for the state. The plan approved by the Court will be considered final and will be used for legislative and congressional elections
beginning in 2022.
As a reminder, under SB 5013, cities that elect councilmembers using districts must complete and
adopt their redistricting plan using 2020 census data by November 15, 2022.