Selection of the Citizen’s Redistricting Commission

The authors of Prop 11 intended to divorce the Legislature and legislative interests from the process of drawing legislative districts. While Legislative staff and members, as well as the courts were involved in various redistricting efforts in the past, Prop 11 requires the creation of a new commission with very specific rules governing the selection of commissioners.

The selection of commissioners must follow these steps:

Changes to the timeline and process will be announced on the Bureau of State Audits website for the Citizen’s Redistricting Commission.

Who May Apply to be a Redistricting Commissioner?

In an effort to mute legislative interests, Proposition 11 outlined very specific criteria about who could apply to be a Redistricting Commissioner.

Commission applicants must:

• Be a registered voter.
• Have not changed party affiliation in the past five years.
• Have voted in two of the last three general elections.

In addition, Prop 11 set-up a series of conflict of interest provisions that disqualify an individual from serving on the Redistricting Commission if he or she, or a member of his or her immediate family, have engaged in certain activities within the last 10 years.

Conflicts that disqualify applicants include:

• Appointment to, election to, or having been a candidate for federal or state office.
• Serving as an officer, employee, or paid consultant of a political party or of the campaign committee of a candidate for elective federal or state office.
• Serving as an elected or appointed member of a political party central committee.
• Registered as federal, state, or local lobbyist.
• Serving as paid congressional, legislative, or Board of Equalization staff.
• Contributed $2,000 or more to any congressional, state, or local candidate for elective public office in any one year period.

Qualities Sought in a Commissioner

The importance of the Citizen’s Redistricting Commission can not be understated as members will be expected to discuss and compromise upon a redistricting process that will literally map the state's political future for a ten-year period.

Applicants should be made aware of the following responsibilities and abilities identified by the BSA as being important to the role of Redistricting Commissioner:

• Ability to travel and participate in numerous public meetings at locations throughout the state.
• Ability to determine which communities across California share common interests and should share common representation.
• Schedule flexibility and willingness to listen during hearings, testimony and presentations that are expected to be lengthy and conducted in the evenings and on weekends to accommodate the public's schedules.
• Willingness to review and discuss data that is pertinent to the setting of geographic boundaries for the different potential districts. This includes the census data and computer models.
• Capability to be a part of a collaborative board that hires and directs the commission's staff to function effectively and efficiently. This includes:
• Ability to draft regulations; appoint a staff director; schedule meetings and hearings including the advanced notification of interested parties; maintain records of the commission's deliberations; oversee payroll, travel reimbursements, equipment purchases and maintenance; and communicate with the entities that will request information regarding the commission's progress.
• Interest in carrying out the responsibility of voting upon the final maps developed in the redistricting process after an extended period of public debate and compromise through different iterations of proposed redistricting plans.