Every 10 years, with the delivery of updated census information to local communities across Washington, public entities must evaluate their district boundaries based on new population information. This process, known as redistricting, can be a complex undertaking based not only on the census data, but also by a number of state and federal laws, most notably Washington’s Voting Act.

Census information from 2020 has been delayed due to the historic COVID-19 pandemic, causing further complication for many local governments across the state. The Washington State Association of County Auditors, WSACA, joined the port community for this informative Tuesday Roundtable, aimed at helping ports get ready for their redistricting efforts.

In today’s Roundtable:

·      Learn what the redistricting process is, and what statutory requirements local governments must follow in these efforts

·      What the first steps to get ready for updated census information are

·      Ways for ports and other local government districts to work together for mutual aid and efficiency during the redistricting process

You can view WSACA’s presentation here, or watch the entire video recording of the Roundtable:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8pyuh0of7xdrr52/2021-05-11_Redistricting_Roundtable.mp4?dl=0

Thank you to the sponsor of the May 11 Roundtable on Redistricting, Chmelik Sitkin & Davis. They are a Northwest Law Firm specializing in local government issues, and are WPPA’s retained counsel. You can visit them on their website here: https://chmelik.com/