California Family Minute
November 19, 2010
Remapping California
by Rebecca Burgoyne,
CFC Research Analyst
The Election Day tsunami that swept the nation stopped its westward swell at the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Nationwide, anti-incumbent fever – peppered with a lack of satisfaction in the status quo – resulted in a wave of social conservative success stories. However, in California, despite the public’s abysmal ratings of the Legislature’s performance and a decidedly negative opinion of the direction the state is headed, incumbent Democrats, once again, were elected to statewide and legislative offices.
While other parts of the nation experienced electoral upheavals, the status quo carried the day in California, where not a single incumbent was unseated. In a total of 153 district elections – 80 in the Assembly, 20 in the Senate, and 53 for Congress – only one seat changed party hands.
Yet there is hope. In the past, California electoral districts have been drawn by legislators – every 10 years after the Census numbers were in. In the Golden State, these gerrymandered districts – in which legislators in essence handpicked their own electors – have resulted in lopsided districts that favor the current party holding the seat. A case in point is the 59th State Assembly District, which at its widest point stretches nearly 80 miles. “It covers parts of two counties, two National Forests and five area codes. It’s impossible to drive from one end to the other without leaving the district.”
That’s about to change. In 2008, Californians passed Proposition 11, which removed the responsibility for drawing the districts from the state Legislature and instead tasked a 14-member citizen commission with the job. Despite a challenge on November 2 – supported mainly by legislators – Californians stood firm in their defeat of Proposition 27 (which would have wiped out the citizen commission) and also passed Proposition 20, which expanded the scope of the commission’s responsibilities to include congressional districts.
And Then There Were Eight
Friday, the field of applicants for the new Citizen’s Redistricting Commission was whittled to eight through a lottery drawing by State Auditor Elaine Howle. The eight chosen members –three Democrats, three Republicans, and two from a pool that includes independents and third parties – first will be tasked with selecting the commission’s six remaining members by the end of the year. The final group must be composed of five Democrats, five Republicans and four voters who are registered with another party or no party at all, and must be balanced ethnically, geographically, and by gender.
Originally a pool of 30,000 applicants last February, the field was pared down through a process that included interviews, conflict-of-interest qualifications, letters of recommendation, and a blackballing by legislators, who were allowed to strike 24 of 60 finalists earlier this month.
Next year, the panel will go to work, redrawing the lines of California’s 80 Assembly districts, 40 Senate districts, districts for the Board of Equalization, and 50-plus congressional districts – a job previously performed by California Legislatures. The final map must be approved by 9 of the 14 panelists – including the approval of at least three members from each pool – Republican, Democrat, and third party/independent. Proposition 11 tasked members with completing the job by September 15, but Proposition 20, which added congressional districts, allows them only until August 15.
Once per decade, after the Census survey determines population distribution, states are charged with redistricting or reapportioning the district lines for their voting blocks. In 2001, Democrats teamed up with Republicans to draw districts that protected their own seats, and through 2008 only five seats changed parties. By contrast, in the 1990s, districts were drawn by the courts, resulting in competitive, community-oriented districts, and 10 congressional seats and seven state Senate seats changed parties. For more on this, see “Charting the impact of CA’s 2001 Bipartisan Gerrymander,” by Claremont McKenna College’s Rose Institute of State and Local Government. Doug Johnson, a research fellow with the institute, told the San Bernardino Sun, “I think if we had more competitive districts, there would have been a number of Republican pickups [in November’s election]. Republicans did better than they usually do, but the districts still protected Democrats.” Next election, with citizen-drawn districts, Californians will have real choice, and the days of legislators selecting their electors will be behind us. District reapportionment will not serve as a cure-all for California’s problems, but competitive districts remind elected representatives that reelection is not secure, especially if they choose to ignore the electorate.
Remapping California
by Rebecca Burgoyne,
CFC Research Analyst
The Election Day tsunami that swept the nation stopped its westward swell at the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Nationwide, anti-incumbent fever – peppered with a lack of satisfaction in the status quo – resulted in a wave of social conservative success stories. However, in California, despite the public’s abysmal ratings of the Legislature’s performance and a decidedly negative opinion of the direction the state is headed, incumbent Democrats, once again, were elected to statewide and legislative offices.
While other parts of the nation experienced electoral upheavals, the status quo carried the day in California, where not a single incumbent was unseated. In a total of 153 district elections – 80 in the Assembly, 20 in the Senate, and 53 for Congress – only one seat changed party hands.
Yet there is hope. In the past, California electoral districts have been drawn by legislators – every 10 years after the Census numbers were in. In the Golden State, these gerrymandered districts – in which legislators in essence handpicked their own electors – have resulted in lopsided districts that favor the current party holding the seat. A case in point is the 59th State Assembly District, which at its widest point stretches nearly 80 miles. “It covers parts of two counties, two National Forests and five area codes. It’s impossible to drive from one end to the other without leaving the district.”
That’s about to change. In 2008, Californians passed Proposition 11, which removed the responsibility for drawing the districts from the state Legislature and instead tasked a 14-member citizen commission with the job. Despite a challenge on November 2 – supported mainly by legislators – Californians stood firm in their defeat of Proposition 27 (which would have wiped out the citizen commission) and also passed Proposition 20, which expanded the scope of the commission’s responsibilities to include congressional districts.
And Then There Were Eight
Friday, the field of applicants for the new Citizen’s Redistricting Commission was whittled to eight through a lottery drawing by State Auditor Elaine Howle. The eight chosen members –three Democrats, three Republicans, and two from a pool that includes independents and third parties – first will be tasked with selecting the commission’s six remaining members by the end of the year. The final group must be composed of five Democrats, five Republicans and four voters who are registered with another party or no party at all, and must be balanced ethnically, geographically, and by gender.
Originally a pool of 30,000 applicants last February, the field was pared down through a process that included interviews, conflict-of-interest qualifications, letters of recommendation, and a blackballing by legislators, who were allowed to strike 24 of 60 finalists earlier this month.
Next year, the panel will go to work, redrawing the lines of California’s 80 Assembly districts, 40 Senate districts, districts for the Board of Equalization, and 50-plus congressional districts – a job previously performed by California Legislatures. The final map must be approved by 9 of the 14 panelists – including the approval of at least three members from each pool – Republican, Democrat, and third party/independent. Proposition 11 tasked members with completing the job by September 15, but Proposition 20, which added congressional districts, allows them only until August 15.
Once per decade, after the Census survey determines population distribution, states are charged with redistricting or reapportioning the district lines for their voting blocks. In 2001, Democrats teamed up with Republicans to draw districts that protected their own seats, and through 2008 only five seats changed parties. By contrast, in the 1990s, districts were drawn by the courts, resulting in competitive, community-oriented districts, and 10 congressional seats and seven state Senate seats changed parties. For more on this, see “Charting the impact of CA’s 2001 Bipartisan Gerrymander,” by Claremont McKenna College’s Rose Institute of State and Local Government. Doug Johnson, a research fellow with the institute, told the San Bernardino Sun, “I think if we had more competitive districts, there would have been a number of Republican pickups [in November’s election]. Republicans did better than they usually do, but the districts still protected Democrats.” Next election, with citizen-drawn districts, Californians will have real choice, and the days of legislators selecting their electors will be behind us. District reapportionment will not serve as a cure-all for California’s problems, but competitive districts remind elected representatives that reelection is not secure, especially if they choose to ignore the electorate.
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