Yakima Valley residents may get a reset on their legislative district lines

Washington’s 15th Legislative District stretches through five counties in the south-central part of the state — including Yakima and the Tri-Cities — and pretty much no one thinks its borders have been mapped correctly.

Two months after the state’s bipartisan redistricting commission settled on the boundaries in 2021, advocates for Latino voters sued over the map. They said it dilutes the Latino vote in the region. Even the state’s attorneys agreed not to defend the map — so you’d think this would be a simple matter to fix. But nothing in politics is ever simple.

In fact, this is a case that touches on one of the most contentious questions in politics and law right now: What role can race play in the drawing of political district lines in the United States? It’s an issue very much alive and recently contested all the way up to the Supreme Court, with surprising results.

"Soundside" caught up with Jerry Cornfield, reporter with the Washington State Standard, about who will be making the decision and what it could mean for voters.