By Mary O’KEEFE

On Nov. 4 voters statewide will be asked to decide if voting districts should be changed or remain the same. 

Prop 50 is the only item on the ballot Nov. 4 and it has been a controversial proposal that goes against a recent tradition of redistricting. 

Every state is divided into areas, and each area within a state is

divided into a district.These districts then vote on local leaders, like in the California assembly and senate, and federal leaders like representatives in Congress. Redistricting traditionally occurs every 10 years, often after the U.S. Census is completed. California uses the census data to redraw the Congressional, State Senate, State Assembly and State Board of Equalization districts. 

In most states the redistricting is done by the state’s local assembly/legislators. So for many states it is the ones in power who draw the lines; however, these district lines are supposed to be fair to its citizens.

“All states must comply with federal constitutional requirements related to population and anti-discrimination. First, the Apportionment Clause of Article I, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution requires that all congressional districts be as nearly equal in population as practicable. In practice, this means districts must be exactly equal in population. Second, the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution requires that state legislative districts be substantially equal. Several states impose their own deviation standard. For instance, Colorado prohibits districts from having a population deviation of more than 5%,” according to the National Conference of State  Legislatures. 

The drawn districts are not always easily accepted. Several states, including North Carolina, Florida, Utah, South Carolina and Ohio, are going to court or have been in court. A lot of these states are being accused of “gerrymandering.” Gerrymandering is “the manipulation of an electoral constituency’s boundaries so as to favor one party or class,” according to the Oxford dictionary.

California does not have its legislators redraw districts. Voters First Act, passed in 2008, gave the responsibility to a commission and in 2010 the commission redrew the maps. 

In 2020 commissioners, who were Republicans, Democrats and those who had no party preference, drew the new district lines. Those districts were not scheduled to be redrawn until 2030 but early redistricting, which started in Texas, has California reconsidering when to redraw its district lines.

Texas’ Republican state legislature voted to redistrict in mid-term. In interviews with President Donald Trump, the goal was to get five more Republican seats in Congress. After the redistricting in Texas the floodgates between red and blue states opened and although gerrymandering is not actually illegal it is a label that most politicians try to avoid. It has been very clear the states that are redistricting are doing it to gain political seats.

As of Oct. 27, there were litigation challenges to federal or state legislative lines in 14 states and in at least one – Ohio – lines will have to be redrawn even without pending litigation. 

For Californians the question as to when to redraw district lines comes in the form of Prop 50 and will be decided in this Nov. 4 election.

Los Angeles County held a webinar last week covering the issues of Prop 50. The discussion was led by Jake Ebright from the League of Women Voters.

“Prop 50 is officially titled the Election Rigging Response Act. It would authorize a temporary change, and this is important to note – it is a temporary change to the California Constitution in order to have gerrymandered district maps for the next five years,” he said. 

The new district maps would cover elections in 2026, 2028 and 2030. 

“And then we’ll go back to having the independent commission draw the maps from the 2030 census onward,” he added. “Another important thing to note here, and it is included in the text of the proposition, is that this move by California … is in direct response to the Texas State Legislature.”

So a yes on 50 would give the California State Legislature the right to redraw the maps to “level the playing field [and it] puts the power in the hand of People of California to decide to approve the emergency congressional district maps,” according to Yes on 50.

Those in favor of Yes on 50 also emphasize this is a temporary change and is a reaction to other states redistricting to benefit the Republican Party.

A No on 50 vote would simply leave the redistricting commission in place. The proponents of a no vote include their concerns about the costs of the election, which is now estimated to be between $200 and $300 million.

Lisa Cusack, Republican chair of the 44th District, stated she knew  immediately that Prop 50 was an attempt to gerrymander. 

“I think it’s politicians in search of their voters instead of letting their voters pick their politician,” she said. 

She also is concerned about the temporary aspect of Prop 50.

“When you give politicians the ability to redraw districts as [easy] as a stroke of a pen instead of doing the hard work of courting votes, I find it highly unlikely they are going to give that [power] up,” Cusack said. “This is throwing out our independent redistricting commission and just [letting] the politicians draw the lines.”

If Prop 50 is approved it appears six more Democratic seats would be added to Congress; however, just because the districts change it does not guarantee any seats for any party. It is still up to those who vote. 

On Nov. 8 registered voters in the unincorporated area of Los Angeles County/La Crescenta and Montrose will have a chance to cast their votes for candidates for the Crescenta Valley Town Council in the hyperlocal election. 

There are three candidates running: incumbent Harry Leon who has lived in the La Crescenta area with his family since 2003. He is the owner of a plumbing firm and has served on the CVTC since 2010. He held the position of president from 2016 to 2022. 

Incumbent Donna Libra has lived in the area for over two decades. She has been serving on the CVTC for seven years. She participated/participates in several community organizations including Neighborhood Watch and as a director with the CV Chamber of Commerce. She has been a real estate professional for over 30 years. 

Candidate Jo Ann Stupakis has lived with her family in the area for 35 years. She was active in the PTA and school foundation boards. She is retired from the Glendale Unified School District where she worked as an executive secretary. She volunteers with many organizations including Friends of Rockhaven, Strides in Recovery and Tournament of Roses. She previously served as a CVTC member. 

CVTC voting is on Nov. 7 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and on Nov. 8 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the St. Luke’s of the Mountains Episcopal Church Sadler Hall, 2563 Foothill Blvd. The parking lot can be found east of Rosemont Avenue on Cross Street. 

Absentee ballots are available to registered voters in the unincorporated LA County/La Crescenta-Montrose area. Ballots may be requested by going to the www.cvcouncil.com website and clicking on the top link for absentee ballot.