Progressive Mariposa - Zoom Meeting for 14 Nov 2021

2020 California Citizens Redistricting Commission
Releases Draft Maps Ahead of Deadline

SACRAMENTO, CA—Today, the 2020 California Citizens Redistricting Commission (Commission) released draft maps for the state’s Congressional, Senate, Assembly and Board of Equalization districts ahead of the CA Supreme Court mandated November 15, 2021 deadline.

“We are finally here. We proudly present these draft maps to the people of California as a starting point for public discussion. These are not intended to be final maps and we strongly encourage Californians to continue weighing in until we get it right,” stated Commission Chair Trena Turner. “A global pandemic and delayed census data would not stop this commission from delivering on its promise to create maps that encourage fair representation. We will have final maps completed and certified by the December 27, 2021 deadline. There is still plenty of time for the public to get involved. We urge you to join us because everything is on the lines.”

Using the multitude of communities of interest testimony the Commission received throughout the summer, they assessed how that testimony could potentially inform district boundaries considering the tradeoffs that needed to be made in eventual maps. The Commission produced three sets of visualizations (October 27-29, November 2-4, November 7-9) that incorporated additional public input to evolve into draft maps.

We encourage the public to provide feedback using this form: https://airtable.com/shrQDD2ta2emnSzzO.

Public comment shall be taken for at least 14 days from the date of public display of the first preliminary statewide (draft) maps of the Congressional, State Senatorial, Assembly, and State Board of Equalization districts. The Commission shall not display any other map for public comment during the 14-day period.

Draft Map Public Input Meeting Schedule
November 17, 2021—Congressional District Feedback
November 18, 2021—Assembly District Feedback
November 19, 2021—Senate District Feedback
November 20, 2021—Board of Equalization & Any District Feedback
November 22, 2021—Any District Feedback
November 23, 2021—Any District Feedback

In accordance with the California Constitution, the Commission followed these criteria, in this order, to draw district maps:

Districts must be of equal population to comply with the U.S. Constitution.

Districts must comply with the Voting Rights Act to ensure that minorities have an equal opportunity to elect representatives of their choice.

Districts must be drawn contiguously, so that all parts of the district are connected to each other.

Districts must minimize the division of cities, counties, neighborhoods and communities of interest to the extent possible.

Districts should be geographically compact: such that nearby areas of population are not bypassed for a more distant population. This requirement refers to density, not shape. Census blocks cannot be split.

Where practicable each Senate District should be comprised of two complete and adjacent Assembly Districts, and Board of Equalization districts should be comprised of 10 complete and adjacent State Senate Districts.

In addition, the place of residence of any incumbent or political candidate may not be considered in the creation of a map, and districts may not be drawn for the purpose of favoring or discriminating against an incumbent, political candidate, or political party.

Every 10 years, after the federal government publishes updated census information, California must redraw the boundaries of its electoral districts so that the state’s population is evenly allocated among the new districts.

In 2008, California voters passed the Voters First Act, authorizing the creation of the independent California Citizens Redistricting Commission to draw new State Senate, State Assembly, and State Board of Equalization district lines. In 2010, the Voters First Act for Congress gave the Commission the responsibility of drawing new Congressional districts following every census.

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REDISTRICTING
(source: Punchbowl News )

Draft California congressional maps could lead to big shakeup

The first round of draft congressional maps for 2022 were released by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission on Wednesday night, and let’s just say they set off something of an uproar among political pros in the nation’s biggest state.

With California actually losing a House seat for the first time following the 2020 census, the jockeying was bound to be intense around the lines for the new districts. But even veteran California observers were surprised with these draft maps. And yes, the key word here is “draft.” There’s still a long way to go in this process.

But what’s happening in California is playing out all over the country as states scramble to put together new congressional maps for the midterm elections. Delays in releasing census data due to the Covid-19 pandemic have forced state officials and lawmakers into a race to get this done. If you want to have an intense conversation with a House member these days, ask them about redistricting.

Here’s Seema Mehta and John Myers from the Los Angeles Times with a take on what happened in the Golden State last night:

The political muscle of Latino voters appears to be strengthened under the California Citizens Redistricting Commission’s proposed maps -- a reflection of demographic changes in the state since the current congressional and legislative districts were drawn a decade ago. More than a dozen congressional districts were mapped to include significant Latino voting populations. ...
The reelection prospects for Democratic Reps. John Garamendi of Walnut Grove and Josh Harder of Turlock may have grown more difficult because of proposed changes to district lines in their respective regions. Republicans Devin Nunes of Tulare and David Valadao of Hanford may have had their residences drawn into the same district, though members of Congress are not required to live in their districts.
GOP Rep. Mike Garcia, who won his northern Los Angeles County seat by a little more than 300 votes in 2020, may lose the Republican stronghold of Simi Valley.
Population shifts will also impact races. Districts drawn a decade ago led to five Democrats elected to Congress in districts stretching from Sacramento to Fresno. The draft maps envision only three districts in that same geographic area.

Dave Wasserman, the highly respected House editor from the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, offered some “big losers” and “big winners.” Overall, he rated the map as a plus for Republicans in this cycle, but could boost Democrats in the long term.

Big losers:
CA10 Josh Harder (D) - Biden +3 to Trump +10
CA22 Devin Nunes (R) - Trump +5 to Biden +9
CA40 Lucille Roybal-Allard (D) - seat eliminated
CA48 Michelle Steel (R) - Biden +2 to +9
CA50 Darrell Issa (R) - Trump +8 to Biden +1
Big winners:
CA07 Ami Bera (D) - Biden +14 to +20
CA21 David Valadao (R) - Biden +11 to +7
CA39 Young Kim (R) - Biden +10 to +6

GOP Rep. Devin Nunes, in particular, is someone to watch closely here. Nunes may end up shifting to another, more GOP-friendly district if the proposed map for his district isn’t changed. And this is important. Nunes could end up being chair of the Ways and Means Committee if Republicans win a House majority in the next Congress.

Apparently there was a lot of confusion with the draft maps released Wednesday night, including the quality of the documents posted by commission staff, per Mehta and Myers.

There will now be a two-week public review period, with final maps will be filed to state officials by the end of December. But a lot is expected to change.

PRESS RELEASE

2020 California Citizens Redistricting Commission
Releases Draft Maps Ahead of Deadline

MARIPOSA COUNTY REDISTRICTING

PRESS RELEASE

2020 California Citizens Redistricting Commission Releases Draft Maps Ahead of Deadline

MARIPOSA COUNTY REDISTRICTING

2020 California Citizens Redistricting Commission
Releases Draft Maps Ahead of Deadline