By Justin HAGER
With the 2020 census complete, governments around the country have begun the process of redrawing legislative and electoral districts that will determine how people are represented in their local, county, state and federal governments. Redistricting determines which neighborhoods and communities are grouped together for elections and government representation. Although the census determines the number of people that must be in each district, the specific shape and make-up of the districts is determined by redistricting commissions.
In the past, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors appointed an advisory committee to study proposed changes and submit recommendations to the Board of Supervisors, which could then make revisions before adopting the final districted boundaries. However, due to legislation passed in 2016, this year’s county redistricting commission is now independent of the Board of Supervisors in terms of both the selection process for serving on the commission and the inability of the Board of Supervisors to review the commission’s decisions.
In addition to being created by an independent commission, new district maps must meet legal guidelines to help ensure fairness and prevent political gerrymandering.
Redistricting has been used as a weapon of political disenfranchisement for decades. By either surgically dividing or super-concentrating voters of a particular demographic or political affiliation, elected officials could choose their voters rather than having voters choose their elected officials. To prevent gerrymandering moving forward, California law requires district maps to have equal population, be contiguous, and be reasonably compact. The new process is also more transparent and participatory than in the past.
According to Paul Mitchell, a CVHS graduate and owner of Redistricting Partners, a Sacramento firm that specializes in California redistricting, voter analysis, and California Voting Rights Act Implementation, residents of Crescenta Valley and the surrounding communities have a particular interest in this year’s map creation.
“For the first time communities in Los Angeles County with shared interests and shared concerns have the opportunity to testify, share their community’s stories and concerns, and directly participate in drawing proposed maps,” he explained. “The maps being created right now will determine whether Glendale and the Crescenta Valley are paired with communities in the [San Fernando] Valley or other foothills communities [that] share concerns around wildfires, wildlife and transit corridors like the 210 and 710.”
To facilitate map creation and get input from communities of interest, Los Angeles County Citizens Redistricting Commission (LA County CRC) has launched a free mapping software on its website that will allow residents to share their ideas about where to draw lines for electing the Board of Supervisors.
“We want the process of drawing the supervisorial district lines to be transparent,” stated LA County CRC Co-chair Carolyn Williams in a press release. “We will be making all submitted maps available for the public’s review.”
This mapping software enables individuals and organizations to draw maps, using the 2020 census data and other data sets, to ensure their communities of interest are identified in terms of their geography. The mapping software also allows the public to verify that their submitted maps meet the requirements of basic population, contiguity and compactness.
LA County CRC is also inviting residents to participate in community of interest public hearings. The hearings provide an opportunity to educate the Citizens Redistricting Commission about different communities of interest by describing the boundaries, policy concerns and shared interests that bind together various communities.
The next hybrid community of interest public hearing will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 22 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the San Fernando Library, 217 N. Maclay Ave. in San Fernando. Residents can access the online mapping tool and learn more about redistricting in Los Angeles County by visiting https://redistricting.lacounty.gov/. Information about redistricting statewide is at https://wedrawthelines.ca.gov/index/.