The Senate Elections and Reapportionment Committee welcomes and encourages public input into the redistricting process. In addition to public testimony before this Committee, the Committee will accept and consider redistricting proposals, written recommendations, and written comments from any individual or group.
If you would like to submit written comments, recommendations concerning redistricting requests to consolidate, split or maintain specific communities, and/or submit full redistricting proposals, the following information should be included with the submission:
- Name and mailing address of individual, or group or organization
- Contact person’s name
- Telephone number and, if available, fax number and e-mail address
-
A description of the organization or group submitting the comment or
recommendation -
A complete explanation of the rationale for any recommendation or
request submitted
Any individual, group or organization may present a redistricting plan to the Committee pursuant to the procedures and criteria set forth below.
Redistricting plans may only be submitted (a) electronically through the Senate’s website @sen.ca.gov where there will be a link to the Elections & Reapportionment Committee or, (b) via the postal service or other recognized delivery service, to the Senate Elections & Reapportionment Committee, State Capitol, Room 5046, Sacramento, CA 95814. Plans submitted must include all census (tract and sub-unit) relevant data in addition to all the submission requirements provided herein.
The State’s population database, including census data from the 2000 Census, will be available to the public beginning May 1, 2001, through the Institute of Governmental Studies, University of California at Berkeley. The database can be accessed through the Institute of Governmental Studies’ website: http://swdb.berkeley.edu/
Please be aware that while new technologies have provided easy access to data and map programs, the complexities involved in drawing a constitutionally valid plan have increased dramatically over the past decade as a result of various U.S. Supreme Court Decisions.
The Committee will rely on these Decisions for guidance in assessing plans.
Therefore, plan drafters should familiarize themselves with all U.S. Supreme Court Decisions relating to redistricting, in addition to the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and Sections 2 and 5 of the Voting Rights Act.
Submitted plans will be evaluated by the Committee in accordance with the following requirements:
- Plans will only be considered that include the entire state of California. Senate plans must include 40 districts, Congressional plans must include 53 districts, Board of Equalization plans must include 4 districts and Assembly plans (if any) must include 80 districts. Plans that only include a portion of the state will be considered as comments and recommendations and must be submitted as such.
- All districts within a statewide plan must be as close to perfect population equality as possible. Legal requirements mandate Congressional districts achieve virtual population equality. There is somewhat more flexibility for state legislative and Board of Equalization districts than for Congressional districts, but given current technological capabilities, and given the Committee’s preference for strict adherence to “one-person-one-vote,” anything other than very small population deviations may be unacceptable – and must be accompanied by written justification.
- Within each body (Senate, Congress, etc.), every district must be contiguous and districts must be consecutively numbered from north to south.
- California’s Constitution requires that the number of unnecessary city and county splits be minimized. Plans must be accompanied with a listing of, and an explanation for all unnecessary city and county splits.
- Senate plans should include a count and location of people who will be “vote deferred” (i.e., people who under current law live in even-numbered districts, but under a proposed plan will live in odd-numbered districts.)
- Four counties within California are designated as “covered” jurisdictions under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The covered counties are Kings, Merced, Monterey and Yuba. Section 5 provides for strict constitutional and Justice Department scrutiny for any activity that affects the politics or voting of covered jurisdictions. All submitted plans must include written annotations for the plan’s effects on minority voters in these four counties.
- Submitted plans will be evaluated on their adherence to these two legal guidelines: a) Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act prohibits districts that, by intent and effect, cancel out or minimize the voting strength of racial groups; b) The Fourteenth Amendment generally prohibits plans or districts that are based on racial considerations without regard to other valid statewide redistricting standards.
- The deadline for submitting plans is August 1, 2001. If plans are being sent through the mail, please retain a copy for your file, as plans cannot be returned.
- The deadline for submitting written recommendations, comments or requests in August 1, 2001.
