(June 10, 2011) The Citizens Redistricting Commission will release the highly anticipated draft political district maps today. Maps are to be finalized by mid-August.
Draft maps can be viewed on the commission’s website at www.wedrawthelines.ca.gov.
The CalChamber is encouraging businesses to get involved in the public review of the maps and will make supplemental information available early next week at www.calchamber.com/redistricting.
The commission was established when voters approved Proposition 11, the Voters First Act redistricting reform initiative last November. The CalChamber-supported measure allows the citizens of California—rather than the legislators—to draw legislative districts, thereby eliminating the conflict of interest in the current system. This process makes California a national leader in redistricting reform.
The 2012 elections will be the first to reflect the redrawing of districts what will be in place though 2020.
In addition, due to CalChamber-supported and voter-approved Proposition 14, the top two open primary system starts in June 2012 and will create more competitive general elections to help elect more pro-jobs legislators.
Public Hearings
Following the maps’ release, the commission will hold a series of public input hearings around the state to receive the public’s feedback on the maps. The commission will also be accepting public comments by e-mail at votersfirstact@crc.ca.gov, by fax (916) 651-5711, and by mail to: Citizens Redistricting Commission, 901 P Street, Suite 154-A, Sacramento, CA 95814. Please visit the commission’s website for the locations and dates of the hearings, www.wedrawthelines.ca.gov.
Video
The Commission has a released a two-minute video featuring all 14 commission members talking about the redistricting process for legislative and congressional districts and asking the public for help. The video is online at www.wedrawthelines.ca.gov.
Criteria
Commissioners must consider several state and federal constitutional criteria when drafting district boundaries. Most important among the criteria are that districts must be approximately equal in population. Based on 2010 Census data released this year, this means each of the:
- 53 seats in Congress must have 702,904 persons;
- 40 Senate districts should have 931,349 persons;
- 80 Assembly districts should have 465,674 persons; and
- four Board of Equalization districts should have 9,313,489 persons.
At the federal level, the equal population requirement is quite strict. Congressional districts are unlikely to vary by more than 1 person, plus or minus, in each district. At other levels, the standard is slightly more relaxed and variances up to 3 percent to 5 percent usually are acceptable, as long as the variance was not manipulated to favor one group over another.
More Information
For more information on the public hearings and to access a guide for participating in the process please go to www.wedrawthelines.ca.gov.
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