Media Advisory
	Contact: Filiz Satir, Director of Communications (360) 586-9000 Ethan Moreno, Executive Director (360) 586-9000
	FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - July 11, 2001
	(MA 07-01)
	Redistricting: State Commission holds hearings in Eastern Washington
	WHO: Washington State Redistricting Commission WHAT: Public Hearings, July 16, 17, 18, and 19; 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. WHERE: July 16 – Spokane, Public Works Bldg, Commissioners Hearing Room July 17 – Pasco, Franklin County PUD Auditorium July 18 – Yakima, Yakima County Administrative Bldg, Room 420 July 19 – Ellensburg, Public Safety Building, Council Chambers OLYMPIA — The Washington State Redistricting Commission will hold a series of Eastern Washington hearings starting July 16. The hearings in Spokane, Pasco, Yakima and Ellensburg represent four of 16 preliminary meetings being held around the state since mid-May. The commission is a five-member, bipartisan commission charged with redrawing the state’s legislative and congressional district boundaries. Prior to 1983, redistricting was done by legislative action and behind closed doors. Statewide hearings have been convened in order to make the decennial redistricting process a more open event. At the hearings, commissioners welcome testimony and comments related to redistricting priorities, communities of interest as well as the political and physical geography of local communities. Redistricting, driven by the U.S. Census, changes the boundaries of legislative and congressional districts to include more or fewer residents. The process ensures that each district is approximately equal in population so that each person’s vote carries the same weight. The state’s nearly 5.9 million population dictates that each legislative district must have about 120,288 people while each congressional district must contain about 654,902 individuals. For further details about public hearings and regular meetings, including specific address information, please visit the commission’s web site at www.redistricting.wa.gov. (Archived news releases can be found by clicking Archives in the menu bar above.)