Recently released Census numbers show an increase of 830,419 Washington residents during the past decade. That increase will give Washington State a 10th Congressional District – but where will it be located?

Most predictions show the new district around the Tacoma and Olympia area. But when the lines are redrawn it will have a major impact on Kirkland residents as both congressional districts that serve Kirkland are well over the targeted population.

The majority of Kirkland is served by the 1st Congressional District and a small area in south Kirkland is served by the 8th Congressional District.

Based on the new numbers, each of the congressional districts in Washington State should have a target population of 672,454 people. The 8th District is over the targeted population the most in the state with 810,754 people, or by 20.6 percent. The 1st Congressional District is over by 10 percent, or by 66,001 people.

By comparison, the 7th Congressional District, which covers mainly Seattle and Vashon Island, gained the fewest residents with just 49,000, or a 4.7 percent increase.

A panel of two Republicans and two Democrats will work on reconfiguring the nine current congressional districts, along with creating a 10th District. A non-voting chair will also be a part of the commission. The panel will have all of 2011 to develop and finalize the maps, and three of the four voting members must vote for the final product. The Legislature has virtually no role and the governor cannot sign or veto the maps.

The population change for the legislative districts that serve Kirkland is opposite from the congressional districts. Both the 45th and 48th, which both serve Kirkland, are below the target population and will have to expand boundaries to include more voters.

The differences in population will also affect the King County Council. The council has appointed a four-person commission to redraw the council districts based on 2010 Census data, according to state law and the King County Charter.

The statutes require that the boundaries of each district correspond as nearly as practical with the boundaries of existing municipalities, election precincts, census tracts, recognized natural boundaries, and communities of related and mutual interest; be drawn to produce districts with compact and contiguous territory; be composed of economic and geographic units; and be as nearly equal in population as possible. Population data may not be used for purposes of favoring or disfavoring any racial group or political party.

The state population grew by 14.1 percent since the 2000 census, to 6,724,540 million people. The population growth in the west also was very strong, up 13.8 percent. The U.S. average was 9.7 percent, to 308.7 million people.