Approval of new district map will move 4,000 voters Pullm

Changes to affect Pullman residents

County commissioners swapped about 4,000 constituents in Pullman under the redistricting plan approved Monday.

The county was required to equalize population in each district following the U.S. Census every 10 years.

Monday’s formal approval of the plan came a week after the state deadline for county’s to balance their districts.

Auditor Eunice Coker blamed the delay on the lack of a county-owned mapping software and a time-taxed elections department. Commissioners had agreed to contract with a mapping expert from Lincoln County to draw the new district lines, but that process did not begin until February.

Coker last week said she did not know if there would be any repercussions from higher authorities for passing a plan after the deadline had passed.

Commissioners had three new district maps to choose from. The approved plan shifts five precincts in Pullman between commissioner districts.

Precinct 130 and 126 on the northeast side of WSU campus in the area around Beasley Coliseum, which have 1,841 residents, will transfer from District 2, currently represented by Commissioner Pat O’Neill, to District 1, currently represented by Commissioner Greg Partch.

District 1 will give the 1,383 residents in precinct 125 on the north slope of College Hill to District 2.

District 2 gives away the 1,049 voters in precinct 218 in southwest Pullman to Commissioner Michael Largent’s District 3.

End result will lower overall county population in District 1 from 15,185 to 14,727 and in District 2 from 14,988 to 14,397. District 3 population will rise from 14,603 to 15,652.

All county residents outside of Pullman remain in the same commissioner district.

The county had intended to create 13 new precincts to split out rural and town voters who are now in the same precinct. Those precincts involve all towns in the county except Colfax, Palouse and Pullman.

The mixed precincts require election officials to split out ballots for town measures to voters in the same precinct.

Coker said they may change the precinct boundaries before the 2020 census.

The new district plan will be in effect for this August’s primary. Notices of changes in district will be sent to affected voters.