California stretches applicant deadline to draw political districts—pool’s too white, too male
Interested in helping to redraw California’s electoral map—dicing up the state into legislative and congressional districts and shaping the next decade of Golden State politics? You now have another week and change to get that application in. State Auditor Elaine Howle, charged with staffing California’s Citizens Redistricting Commission, announced today that her office would be extending…
PD Editorial: Here’s a chance to help reshape California’s political maps
Now that the Trump administration won’t be allowed to suppress participation in next year’s U.S. census with a citizenship question, fans of good government are thinking about what comes after the count. California already is recruiting for the independent redistricting commission that will draw new legislative and congressional districts based on the census. Unfortunately, the…
State Auditor Invites New Leaders to Reshape California
The opportunity to reshape California arose In November 2008 after voters passed Proposition 11 (Voters FIRST Act), which led to the establishment of the Citizens Redistricting Commission. Since its creation, the 14-member commission which was created by the State Auditor, has been responsible for drawing district lines for the State Senate, Assembly, and State Board…
Editorial: A disappointing applicant turnout for California’s citizens redistricting commission
It’s not terribly surprising that the applications for the 2020 Citizens Redistricting Commission have been thin compared to 2010. Back then, Californians had only recently voted to take the task of drawing of congressional and legislative districts away from self-interested politicians and give it to, well, citizens — regular Californians who presumably would make districts that…
California State Auditor Announces More Than 10,300 Applications Submitted for 2020 Citizens Redistricting Commission
SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — The California State Auditor announced today that more than 10,300 Californians have submitted an application to serve on the 2020 Citizens Redistricting Commission. The announcement comes with just one week left in the initial application period, which ends on August 9. Source: applications.shapecaliforniasfuture.auditor.ca.gov “I am pleased to announce that as of this…
California’s redistricting panel flooded with applications
More than 7,100 people have applied to be on California’s independent redistricting commission, the 14-member panel that will draw new political boundaries based on population counts from the 2020 census. State Auditor Elaine Howle’s office said Tuesday that of the large applicant pool, about 6,000 were tentatively eligible. The voter-created commission will draw 120 districts…
Trump is right about one thing: Citizenship is a big deal
In backing down from his plan to include a question about U.S. citizenship on next year’s census form, President Donald Trump gave credence to the claims of critics that his administration had an ulterior — and partisan — motive in pressing for inclusion of the question. During rambling remarks in the Rose Garden, the president…
Why Congress’ Plan to Fix Gerrymandering Falls Short
If you’re concerned about gerrymandering, the last few weeks have been painful. But instead of stewing over the Supreme Court’s disappointing decision in the North Carolina gerrymandering case or the Trump Administration’s attempts to interfere with the next census, I’ve tried to hold on to one of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s favorite lines: “We don’t agonize,…
Marin Voice: California continues to face issues with gerrymandering unfairness
As some readers of this space may remember, I was very active in California’s 2010 redistricting process. I was a semifinalist for appointment to the new Citizens Redistricting Commission, attended many commission meetings with testimony, and even drew maps using the commission’s software. This input contributed to avoiding our state senate seat being shared with…
California May Push Cities and Counties to End Local Gerrymandering
Rhonda Shader is tired of looking at maps of Placentia. First as a councilmember and now as the mayor, Shader has seen the seven square miles of her north Orange County town sliced and diced at least a dozen ways to satisfy the demands of good governance groups who accuse the city’s leaders of gerrymandering…
Will GOP be fooled again by California Redistricting Commission?
There’s a long list of reasons why California Republicans were decimated in the 2018 midterm elections. The most overlooked: Democrats got a nine-year head start. In December 2009, the California State Auditor formally opened the application process for members of the public to serve on the state’s inaugural independent redistricting commission. That’s when shrewd Democrats went to work gaming the redistricting…
The Redistricting Commission—Political Virgins Wanted
Do you want do the most political job in California? You can apply—as long as you know almost nothing about politics. California’s Redistricting Commission has a hunger for virgins. Political virgins. And so it’s asking you to apply if you’ve never really participated in politics. Because knowledge is too much of a burden if you’re…