Tag Archives: census

Redistricting: A closer look at the few blocks where congressional borders around Capitol Hill and the CD would change

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The purple line represents the District 7 border set in 2011 — the black is the proposal for the new border in 2021

Like changes most likely coming for Capitol Hill and the Central District’s places in the state’s legislative districts, the area’s future Congressional District borders will also likely see tweaks as they are set for the next decade until the next census.

When it comes to our representation in Washington D.C., new maps wouldn’t change the current borders much, again splitting Capitol Hill across two Congressional Districts, the 7th and the 9th. The dividing line runs along Union between Madison and MLK. It then turns south along MLK to Yesler, and then heads east to the lake. From the Union and Madison junction, it continues west along Madison, before jogging south, looping the hospitals and the ID. Continue reading →

Welcome, Laurelhurst? No matter how state redistricting hiccup works out, likely only small changes ahead for Capitol Hill’s 43rd District

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The 43rd today, left, and the commission’s approved (but not final) adjustments

For all Capitol Hill residents on the edge of their seat wondering if the neighborhood will remain at the center of the state’s 43rd Legislative District, you’re going to have to wait a bit longer. For the first time since its creation, the Washington State Redistricting Commission has failed to finalize a new set of maps for congressional and state legislative districts. The process will now go to the state Supreme Court leaving the final decision on borders determining legislative representation neighborhood by neighborhood across the state in the hands of judges.

For the 43rd, the court’s decisions are most likely to result in minor changes with the commission’s “approved” — but not final — map proposal adding southern Laurelhurst in exchange for lopping off areas around Green Lake. But some of the commission member proposals for the 43rd show just how complicated the process can get.

State law required a November 15th deadline for the commissioners to develop the new maps. The reshaping of the state’s boundaries were planned to be in place in time for the 2022 midterm elections.

Created by state constitutional amendment in the 1980’s, the commission first created maps in 1991, after the 1990 census. A different group of commissioners are appointed each time. Two people are appointed by Democrats and two by Republicans. Those four then appoint a non-voting, fifth member to act as chair.

For a map to be approved, at least three of the voting members must agree on it. The idea was to take the process out of the hands of a partisan Legislature, which in many states leads to lawmakers drawing maps that nakedly favor one party over the other. Washington’s process typically leads to the vast majority of the seats being safe for one party or the other, while a handful are competitive.

This year’s commission included former Capitol Hill state Rep. Brady Pinero Walkinshaw as one of the Democratic representatives, along with April Sims. In an on-brand move for the Republicans, their commissioners were both straight white men, Paul Graves and Joe Fain. Sarah Augustine served as chair.

You might not be surprised that some of the most disruptive changes to the Democratic stalwart 43rd District were put forward in the Republican proposals: Continue reading →

Commission adds affordable housing advocate as process to redraw Seattle City Council borders moves forward

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Powered by the latest Census data, the City of Seattle is redrawing its boundaries for its seven City Council districts. The volunteer board convened to lead this process meets Thursday for a special meeting to move forward on the process and introduce the fifth and final member selected to the body.

According to meeting materials for the Wednesday morning session (PDF), affordable housing advocate Patience Malaba is set to join the commission. Rules for the redistricting require two members appointed by the mayor, and two by the City Council. The fifth is selected by the board. Continue reading →

Census 2020 social distancing: Why you should spend 5 minutes now to avoid a knock on your door later

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(Image: CHS)

It might seem like a well-thought-out contingency plan on the part of the federal government, if it weren’t for a mountain of evidence showing that there is no such thing.

This year, for the first time in history, the U.S. census has moved online, hopefully minimizing personal contact at a time when a once per decade government tally runs up against a once per century (let’s hope) viral pandemic.

For anyone who doesn’t remember from government classes, 2020 is a census year. The due date for this assignment? April 1st.

The U.S. constitution mandates that every 10 years, the government take a count of everyone who lives here. While there had been a bit of a dust up over a Trump administration plan to add in a question about respondent’s citizenship status, that question is not included.

If you haven’t yet, you’ll soon receive a mailer from the government with a 12-digit alphanumeric code on it. Go to my2020census.gov, click start and type in the code. You will then be asked a series of questions, and can choose one of 13 languages. Questions include how many people live in your household, their name, age, gender (only male or female options) and race (a lot of options, including the option for multi-racial people to check more than one box). There’s also a question about if you own your home (with or without a mortgage) or rent. The questions are based on your living arrangements as of April 1, so take that into account. Continue reading →