PETER A. MORRISON AND ASSOCIATES, INC.

3 Eat Fire Springs Road - Nantucket, MA 02554

Voice (508) 228-8018 or (310) 266-9580
E-mail: Petermorrison@me.com

March 19, 2015

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
This memo documents for the record how I preserved the voting strength of protected minorities and
balanced traditional redistricting criteria in creating my recommended City of Pasco Council District
Plan Option 3a which the City adopted on March 2, 2015.
1. The five City Council districts have been equalized based on the latest official estimate of total
population for the City of Pasco. The State of Washingtons Office of Financial Management shows
the April 1, 2014 population of the City as 67,770. That estimated total has been allocated to
subareas of the City using a variant of the Census Bureaus Housing Unit method. The 7.68%
difference between the most populous and least populous district (known as the total deviation from
ideal) is as small as is reasonably practicable, given the need to balance other legitimate traditional
districting criteria.
The five City Council districts need not be exactly equal in total population. Many courts have
allowed districting plans with up to a 10-percent total deviation from ideal. A plans deviation from
ideal is measured by taking the difference between the district with the most residents and the district
with the fewest residents and then dividing that number by the ideal district size. For the City of
Pasco, this means that the difference between the most populous district and the least populous
district should not exceed 1,355 persons (10 percent of the ideal district population). For the adopted
plan, this difference is 1,041 (calculated as 13,948 minus 12,907), which is 7.68% of a districts ideal
population (13,554).
2. The five City Council districts preserve the voting strength of the Citys Hispanic eligible voters
while furthering other traditional districting criteria. Among the most important were geographic
compactness, maintaining existing precinct boundaries, and allowing for post-2010 population
growth. According to Supreme Court precedent, race (here, ethnicity) should not be the
predominant factor in drawing a district. Accordingly, I have emphasized (1) avoiding minority
vote dilution and (2) keeping existing precincts and neighborhoods intact insofar as possible.
3. One of the plans I have recommended (Option 3a, adopted on March 2, 2015) is shown in the
accompanying map. Relevant demographic parameters for this plan are summarized in the table
below. The total population (2014) column documents the 7.68% total deviation from ideal. The
citizen voting-age population (2008-12) column documents Hispanics share of the eligible voter
population: 60.6% in District 1, 52.0% in District 2, and 31.1% Citywide.
This adopted plan affords Hispanics an effective majority among the eligible voters in two of these
five compact districts, while keeping neighborhoods intact and adhering to the Citys existing precinct
boundaries. Thus, the plan assures Hispanics the ability to elect by district at least 2 of their preferred
candidates for City Council. Furthermore, the plan affords Hispanics the opportunity to elect up to 2

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additional Hispanic-preferred candidates at large if and when a Hispanic-preferred candidate runs at
large and attracts sufficient crossover vote from the Citys non-Hispanic eligible voters.

Peter A. Morrison

Demographic Parameters of Adopted Plan

Adopted'Plan'3a
City&
Council&
District

Citizen&Voting?age&Population&
(2008?12)
Total&
Population& Deviation& Total&(all&
%&
(2014)
From&Ideal groups) Hispanic Hispanic

1
2
3
4
5

13,948
12,907
13,709
13,647
13,559

Citywide

67,770

Ideal&(1/5):

13,554

2.91%
?4.77%
1.14%
0.69%
0.04%

3,982
4,741
5,773
7,168
7,026

2,415
2,465
1,363
1,488
1,186

60.6%
52.0%
23.6%
20.8%
16.9%

28,690

8,917

31.1%

+7.68%

Sources:&&State&of&Washington,&Office&of&Financial&Management,&official&April&1,&2014&
population&estimate.&&US&Census&Bureau,&2008?2012&American&Community&Survey,&Tables&
B05003&(adjusted&for&annexations).

Precinct_Labels

District 5

District 4

District 3

District 2

District 1

Legend

058

Option 3a

City of Pasco Council Districts

Official Pasco City Council District Plan, As Adopted March 2, 2015