Under the county’s voter-approved Charter, four of the five members of the Board of County Commissioners are elected by district. The Charter also requires a review of the population among the four commissioner districts every 10 years following the U. S. Census Bureau’s decennial count. If the population of any one commissioner district is more than 105% of any other, new commissioner district boundary lines must be drawn. This part of the process is called “reapportionment.” At the end of the reapportionment process, the population of the newly redrawn districts must not be more than 103% of any other. This page provides information about the reapportionment process.
Below is a map of the new commissioner districts. To find which commissioner district you are in click here.
Latest News
Updated December 1, 2022
On November 29th, the Washington County Board of Commissioners adopted new boundaries for commissioner districts through Ordinance 893 in a four to zero vote following a public hearing. The reapportionment change will take effect on December 28, 2022, which is in time for candidates for district commissioners to apply for the 2024 election.
After a 10-month process of gathering input from the community and researching different proposals, the board agreed to new commissioner district boundary lines where:
a. The redrawn districts achieve the goal of approximately equal population distribution, resolve the unequal population distribution revealed by the 2020 census and are designed to minimize disparities over time as population increases continue,
b. The boundaries generally are easily recognizable and logical,
c. The division of communities of common interest is minimized, recognizing that it is not practicable to avoid all divisions; and
d. Voting strength by race and ethnicity is preserved.
Updated November 23, 2022
Washington County’s reapportionment of commissioner districts is in its final phase where district boundary lines will be redrawn to adjust for population growth in District 2 based on the 2020 census and as mandated by county Charter. The Board selected proposal 5 with an added change for the area north of West Union Road, from Jackson School Road to Jackson Quarry Road, which would shift out of District 2 and into District 4. Proposal 5 seeks to maintain consistency with city and urban planning area agreements (UPAAs). This proposal would minimize city splits and take planned growth of cities into account.
Commissioner District boundaries (PDF 455.68 KB)
On Tuesday, November 29, 2022, the Washington County Board of Commissioners will hear from staff for a second reading of Ordinance 893 followed by a public hearing. The board will then consider adopting the ordinance.
Updated October 13, 2022
Washington County’s Commissioner District Reapportionment process is moving forward with two proposals for the redrawing of district boundaries to be discussed on the next Board of County Commissioners work session.
The board came to an agreement after a staff presentation on community input at the board’s work session on September 27. The board chose to further discuss proposal 4 and proposal 5 at the next Board of County Commissioners work session which will be held on October 18th. At this meeting, the board will receive the final reapportionment report from Portland State University (PSU) and will consider directing staff to draft an ordinance to implement the selected plan.
For each proposal under consideration, the board came into agreement to follow these guidelines as much as possible:
- Keep each district contiguous;
- Use existing geographic or political boundaries;
- Not divide communities of common interest;
- Keep each district connected by transportation links;
- Keep each district equal in population;
- Not draw the districts to favor a specific person or partisan concern;
- Not draw the districts to dilute voting strength of any language group or ethnicity;
- Consider Park Districts, School Districts, Urban Growth Boundary, Urban Service Agreements, Urban Reserves and keep Aloha and Beaverton in one district;
- Maintain District 1 as the only district that is exclusively urban/suburban;
- Provide an option that includes rural areas in each district;
- Consider socio-economic status; and
- Consider rural/urban divide.
Commissioner district reapportionment overview
Release date: 08/25/2022
County district lines need to be redrawn. Watch the videos to learn why the reapportionment process is happening, then review the five proposed options and share your feedback by filling out our online survey.
- Commissioner District Reapportionment: Five Proposed Plans
- Do you know which of the four Washington County Districts you live within?
- Maps: Washington County Reapportionment Proposal Viewer
- Take the survey to share your feedback
Culturally Specific Engagement
Release date: 08/12/2022
Washington County is realigning the boundaries of its four Board of Commissioner Districts based on the results of the population changes from the 2020 census.
On July 12, 2022, the Board of County Commissioners reached an agreement on five options for the community to respond to regarding how district boundaries should be realigned. Working with Portland State University (PSU), the County has drawn proposed maps to ensure that each district is approximately the same population:
Commissioner Districts Reapportionment Survey
Release date: 08/03/2022
Washington County Commissioner Districts are being realigned through a reapportionment process. Community members are invited to learn and weigh in on proposed changes via an online survey to determine the community’s preferences.
To review the options for redrawing commissioner districts, View maps 1 through 5 above. Then take the online survey and share your feedback:
Project Timeline
Community engagement
Washington County worked with Portland State University's Population Research Center to provide recommended options for changing the commissioner district boundary lines. An online survey was available from August through early September that allowed community members to review each plan and share their preferences and feedback. Several community events were also held both in person and online.
Guiding Documents and Information
Reports and Briefings
- Board Briefing (November 9, 2021) (PDF 1.14 MB)
- Report from County Official to determine population distribution among commissioner districts (February 1, 2022) (PDF 197 KB)
- - Board video presentation 3-15-22
- Board Briefing (July 12, 2022) (PDF 2.1 MB)
- Board video presentation 7-12-22 - Board Briefing (September 27, 2022) (18.3 MB)
- Board video presentation 9/27/22 - Board Briefing October 18, 2022
- Board video presentation 10/18/22 - Board Briefing November 29, 2022
- - Board video presentation 11/29/22