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Editorial: Census gains bolster quest for balanced state voice

Wed., Dec. 15, 2010

Until now, the most significant impact the 2010 census has had on the nation is the tens of thousands of people the 10-year national head count put to work in a recession-wracked economy that desperately needed jobs.

A broader importance is about to emerge, though, and public judgments will be mixed.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Census Bureau will release the first batch of 2010 data, including the identity of states expected to gain or lose representation in the House of Representatives. Washington is likely to be one of eight gainers, meaning the state would have a 10th seat in the House and a total of 12 votes in the Electoral College when it meets to formally choose the winner of the 2012 presidential election.

Those apportionment questions, plus the formulas that determine how funding is distributed for population-driven federal programs, are the most concrete applications of the tally that has occupied so many census takers for the past year.

Traditionally, residents could be expected to take pride in their state’s likely elevated prestige and influence, not to mention the practical effect of having a slightly louder voice with which to advocate in Washington, D.C., for home-state concerns that transcend partisan and ideological divisions. Yes, there are many such issues.

But in the sharply polarized world that was on conspicuous display during the recent general election campaign, increased influence is sometimes seen as more problem than solution.

The two existing congressional districts in conservative Eastern Washington voted for John McCain for president in 2008 and gave incumbent U.S. Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Doc Hastings comfortable re-election margins last month. But all seven Western Washington districts supported President Barack Obama in 2008, and only two of them elected Republicans to Congress.

More of that kind of imbalance is as feared by some as it is cheered by others.

Those fears are probably misplaced.

Distributing the representation is not a direct responsibility of the Legislature or the governor. It is a carefully balanced, bipartisan process that will begin next month when state lawmakers convene in Olympia. Caucus leaders in the House and Senate will each appoint a Washington citizen (not an elected official) to the state Redistricting Commission, and those four people will select a nonvoting chairman.

By the end of next year they will present the Legislature with a map of 49 legislative and (assuming Washington gains a House seat) 10 congressional districts, balanced by population and built around various shared geographical and demographic considerations. In 2012, the Legislature will have to pass the plan as is or agree to amendments by two-thirds margins.

It’s a plan Washington can be proud of, not because of political intrigue but because it promotes fair representation in state and federal government and promises Washington citizens the rightful advantage their growing numbers justify.