The redrawing of political maps, known as redistricting, happens just once every 10 years, and for decades the process was shrouded in secrecy. So it’s no surprise that many Californians don’t know much about why redistricting happens, let alone how the process works or why they should care.
Here are answers to some common questions about redistricting in California.
What is redistricting?
Every 10 years, after the federal government publishes updated census information, California is required to redraw the political boundaries of seats that represent voters in the U.S. House of Representatives, the California State Senate and Assembly, and the tax and fee districts that make up the State Board of Equalization. The purpose is to make sure the state’s population is evenly spread among those districts.
The federal Voting Rights Act also requires that lines be drawn in a way that protects districts with high percentages of minority voters. The law says new lines must keep enough minority voters in the district that they stand a chance of electing a representative from their community, but, conversely, that no single district should be packed with minority voters to diminish their representation.
In California, counties also use one-in-a-decade census data to redraw boundaries for supervisor districts, while cities, school districts and other local agencies that elect representatives by geographical districts use the information to adjust maps for those regions.
Why should I care?
Who is and who isn’t included in any political district either elevate or drown out particular voices in a community.
If, for example, voters who believe they are negatively impacted by LAX are split from one district into multiple districts, their ability to advocate for new flight restrictions might be weakened. They would be in smaller groups petitioning multiple representatives who deal with many issues rather than a vocal majority regularly bending the ear of one politician.
Or say a sliver of San Bernardino with a high percentage of Latino voters is cut off from its current House district and mixed into a neighboring district that’s majority White. Those Latino voters then might stand a slim chance of electing someone from their ethnic community to represent them and, likewise, the Latino influence in their former district also might be weakened.
“For all that we have as a democracy, it really starts with ensuring that we have people that we believe represent our perspectives and our voices,” said Linda Akutagawa, a member of the state redistricting commission from Huntington Beach.
So how does redistricting work in California?
For decades in California — and in a majority of U.S. states to this day — federal and state districts have been drawn by legislators behind closed doors. Along with a lack of transparency, the practice historically led to gerrymandering, meaning districts were drawn to favor incumbents and political parties already in power.
To stop that practice, California voters in 2008 passed the Voters FIRST Act, which created an Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission. The commission is made up of “everyday” voters who have final say in how districts are drawn.
“By removing that (redistricting) power from the legislature here in California, we gave that power back to the people,” said Sara Sadhwani, a political science professor from La Cañada Flintridge who sits on the this year’s commission.
The commission must take public input and hold open meetings as they draw new district lines. They also have to take into account population counts from the census, federal law and state guidelines. That includes requirements to make districts contiguous and compact and to keep communities with common interests together in new districts whenever possible.
The commission cannot use partisan data, such as voter registration, to draw lines that might favor or hurt particular candidates or political parties. And legislators can’t communicate directly with commissioners about redistricting; contact from politicians and lobbyists is allowed only during public meetings.
California first used the citizen commission process in 2010. Experts point to recent elections as evidence that the new process is working as intended, with record numbers of minority officeholders elected and both major political parties claiming some victories. In 2018, Democrats took seven of the state’s 53 House seats from Republicans, only to see four of those seats go back to the GOP in 2020.
More states are moving to citizen redistricting commissions, and a federal bill that would make sweeping changes to election law calls for implementing the non-partisan system nationwide. But while it was Democrats who initially opposed citizen commissions in California, it’s Republicans who are now opposed to the switch at the federal level.
How are commissioners selected?
The 2020 California Citizens Redistricting commission formed over the summer after a year-long selection process.
The citizen commission must have 14 members, including five Republicans, five Democrats and four voters who aren’t registered with either major party.
Anyone who has voted in at least two of the last three statewide elections could apply online to join the commission. A three-person panel from the California State Auditor reviewed the more than 20,000 applications and selected 120 for personal interviews. The panel sent names of the top 20 Republicans, top 20 Democrats and top 20 independents to legislative leaders, who had the option of striking up to eight names from each partisan category. In California that process is not public, which has led to some criticism.
The remaining 35 names were sent back to the California State Auditor, which held a lottery in July to randomly select three Democrats, three Republicans and two independents to become the first eight commission members. A month later, those eight members selected the final six commissioners, picking two Republicans, two Democrats and two independents, with an eye to balancing any diversity gaps.
The lottery didn’t give the commission a single Latino member in a state with 40% Latino population, for example. So the first eight members chose four Latinos to help fill the final six slots.
Equity advocates note not enough Latinos applied to be in the original pool, indicating the state has work to do to improve outreach before the next go-around in 2030.
So who’s on this year’s panel?
The current commission includes eight women and six men from throughout the state. They are: Isra Ahmad of San Jose, Akutagawa, Jane Andersen of Berkeley, Alicia Fernández of Clarksburg, Neal Fornaciari of Tracy, J. Ray Kennedy of Morongo Valley, Antonio Le Mons of Studio City, Sadhwani, Patricia Sinay of Encinitas, Derric Taylor of Los Angeles, Pedro Toledo of Petaluma, Trena Turner of Stockton, Angela Vázquez of Los Angeles and Russell Yee of Oakland.
When will the new district’s come out?
This year, that’s a big question.
Typically, the Census Bureau gives states block-by-block data to guide redistricting by April 1. California’s commission then has until Aug. 15 to digest that data, hold public hearings and approve new maps.
But the COVID-19 pandemic delayed Census counts and processing this year. Now, the Census plans to get redistricting data to states by Sept. 30, with a possibility that preliminary versions of data could come out around a month earlier.
California leaders foresaw the potential for delays and, in July, the State Legislature successfully petitioned the California Supreme Court to extend the deadline for the commission to draw its maps. The new deadline is Dec. 15, with potential extensions into mid-February.
On the plus side, the commission now has more time to educate and solicit information from the public. And the public then has more time to give input on communities of interest and other information they feel should be considered in drawing district lines.
On the minus side, the commission (and local agencies that also need to do redistricting) will have less time to actually draw maps and get input from the public on their drafts.
Elections officials also will have less time to make adjustments on their end, to ensure the right ballots are sent to the right voters according to new district boundaries. And candidates for office will have far less time before filing deadlines for the June 2022 primary to analyze new district demographics, decide if it makes sense for them to run, and to actually mount solid campaigns.
Given this time crunch, Paul Mitchell with consulting firm Political Data Inc. believes the state may still need to shorten its filing deadlines for candidates and possibly roll the primary back from June 7 to, say, June 28. Much later than that and Mitchell said it could make it tough for elections officials to prepare for the November general election.
What could happen to California’s political power?
The first big district news will come April 30, when the Census Bureau announces apportionment data. This will show how many congressional seats each state should have based on new population counts.
For the first time in its history, California — which currently has 53 House seats — is expected to see its delegation shrink by at least one because the state’s population has not grown as fast as other states due to people moving out of state, declining birth rates and slowing immigration. There’s even a chance two seats could be lost. But Mitchell believes California did a better job than Texas when it came to getting people to respond to the census, meaning California might limit its loss to a single seat while faster-growing Texas might gain three instead of as many as four.
Some current Los Angeles districts are underpopulated, Mitchell noted, and will likely expand to include regions outside the city. So will some Northern California districts.
In Orange County, he said the 45th District is overpopulated and predicted it might shrink a bit, as will some Bay Area districts.
How can I get involved?
Anyone can make suggestions for the commission to consider when redrawing district boundaries.
Residents can go online now and use a new tool to draw where they think district boundaries should be and tell commissioners why. They can also attend commission meetings (which are virtual for now) and offer comments, either in person during those meetings or in writing anytime.
Community organizations also can ask the commission to give a presentation about how redistricting works and how residents can get involved.
For more information, visit WeDrawTheLinesCA.org.
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