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Tag: redistricting

`The race is on’: WA primaries next up

`The race is on’: WA primaries next up

Washington’s campaign season is officially underway, with hundreds of candidates signed up for 364 offices, from the U.S. Senate and statewide offices to key races that will determine control of the state Legislature and the future of 10 congressional districts. Secretary of State Sam Reed said he was pleased with the remarkable rush of interest in state and local office, given the difficult problems facing Washington state and the sometimes harsh nature of modern campaigning and the unpredictable influence of…

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Court: 2012 elections will use Redistricting Commission maps

Court: 2012 elections will use Redistricting Commission maps

The Washington Supreme Court has unanimously authorized use of the new Redistricting Commission boundaries to run the 2012 elections, even as a citizen challenge to the commission’s work proceeds. Secretary of State Sam Reed said he was pleased — and relieved — to get the ruling: “This is very good news. Our 2012 elections season is barreling down on us, with Filing Week beginning May 14 and Top 2 Primary ballots going in the mail in July. The counties are…

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WA redistricting panel produces new district maps

WA redistricting panel produces new district maps

Washington’s citizen Redistricting Commission, under the gun to reach bipartisan agreement on new congressional and legislative district boundaries, pulled it all together just a few hours before their absolute deadline on the night of New Year’s Day. With all four voting members — two Republicans and two Democrats — signing off on the plan, the new boundaries are expected to take effect this spring.  Under the voter-approved constitutional amendment that created the process in 1983, lawmakers will have only a…

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A perfect 10! WA awarded new congressional seat

A perfect 10! WA awarded new congressional seat

Map courtesy of U.S. Census Bureau Celebration time! Washington’s population grew by over 14 percent in the past decade and will gain a new congressional seat. Washington’s former governor, Gary Locke, now President Obama’s commerce secretary, presided over a nationally televised press conference to release the 23rd Census since the founding of the republic. Relative to the rest of the nation, Washington grew enough in the past 10 years to nab a 10th congressional district.  Our latest population number: 6,724,540…

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A perfect 10: WA still in line for new district

A perfect 10: WA still in line for new district

Washington apparently is still in line for a new 10th congressional district, according to analysts at Election Data Services. The analysis, reflecting fresh population estimates from the Census Bureau, says if the numbers hold up in the 2010 Census data that comes out in less than three months, Washington will take the 434th of the 435 House seats as a net gain. The EDS survey, however, points out that a number of other states, including Oregon, are on the bubble,…

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WA exports more than apples & jets

WA exports more than apples & jets

Washington is on the map as one of those “laboratory of democracy” states, with citizens who seem relatively comfortable with innovation and experimentation.  Some of those ideas get exported to other states. A couple of current potential examples-in-the-making: California, the nation’s most populous state, soon will vote on whether to adopt Washington’s Top 2 Primary system.   The Golden State, you may recall, previously copied our “blanket primary,” and thereby incited a lawsuit by the political parties that ended up costing…

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UPDATE: We’re a perfect 10

UPDATE: We’re a perfect 10

Washington apparently is in line for a new 10th congressional district, according to analysts at Election Data Services. The analysis, reflecting fresh population estimates from the Census Bureau on Wednesday, says if the numbers hold up in the 2010 Census, as expected, Washington will take the 435th of 435 House seats as a net gain. The report says six other states, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina and Utah, also would pick up a seat and Texas would gain three. …

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Shifting boundaries: Redistricting afoot

Shifting boundaries: Redistricting afoot

The politically sensitive issue of how to re-draw Washington’s congressional and legislative boundaries will be turned over to an independent citizen commission after the 2010 Census — but work is already under way.  The Secretary of State’s redistricting office — a grand name for two staffers! — has just launched a terrific new website that spells it all out. This political art-and-science, much beloved by government and election techno-geeks, is called “redistricting.”  Every 10 years, the Constitution requires that our districts…

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