Referendum against Senate Maps Qualifies for November Ballot

February 27, 2012

Last week, the Secretary of State released the valid signature count totals for the referendum filed by Fairness and Accountability in Redistricting (FAIR) seeking to prevent the implementation of the Senate maps adopted by the Citizens Redistricting Commission. The Secretary of State has determined that the proponents have submitted a sufficient number of valid signatures for the referendum to be deemed qualified and to appear on the ballot in November.

In January, the Secretary of State indicated that the referendum did not meet the threshold to qualify by the random sample method, but would instead require a full count which requires the verification of each signature submitted. A total of 504,760 valid signatures were needed for the referendum to appear on the ballot in the November primary.

A total of 711,307 signatures were put through the verification process in the full count and a total of 511, 457 were confirmed valid. The referendum will now appear on the November ballot, the results of which will determine which maps will be used for future election cycles.

If the referendum passes, by receiving more than 50% of the votes, the Redistricting Commission's Senate lines will be deemed ratified by the voters and will be used until the next redistricting cycle is completed in 2021.

If the referendum fails, the California Supreme Court will then assume jurisdiction and appoint Special Masters to draw new lines that will be used starting in 2014 until the next redistricting cycle is completed in 2021.

Weekend media coverage of the redistricting referendum included articles or blog posts in the Sacramento Bee (1), Sacramento Bee (2), Los Angeles Times, and San Francisco Chronicle

 

California Supreme Court Issues Opinion on Senate Maps

January 27, 2012

Today, the California Supreme Court issued a written opinion ordering the use of the Citizen Redistricting Commission's certified Senate maps for the 2012 election cycle.

Today's ruling was in response to a referendum seeking to prevent the implementation of the Senate maps adopted by the Redistricting Commission.

The issue before the Court was whether they should stay the implementation of the Commission's lines given that the referendum has not completed the qualification process to determine whether it will appear on the ballot in November.

In January, the Secretary of State indicated that the referendum did not meet the threshold to qualify by the random sample method, but would instead require a full count which necessitates the verification of each signature submitted.

The Secretary of State and individual counties will continue the full count signature verification process.  The statutory deadline for the counties to complete this process is February 24, 2012.

If the full count process yields fewer than 504,760 valid signatures, the referendum fails and the process is complete.

If the full count process yields at least 504,760 valid signatures, then the referendum is deemed qualified and will appear on the November 2012 ballot.  The results of the November election will then determine which maps will be used for future election cycles.  If the referendum passes, then the Commission's lines will be used until the next redistricting cycle.  If the referendum fails, then the California Supreme Court will assume jurisdiction, appoint special masters and determine the Senate district lines to be used moving forward.

The Sacramento Bee and the LA Times have coverage of the decision.

 

Final Maps Certified by California Citizen's Redistricting Commission

August 15, 2012

Today the California Citizen's Redistricting Commission (CRC) http://wedrawthelines.ca.gov certified the Commission’s Final plans for the State Assembly, State Senate, CA House of Representatives and the State Board of Equalization.

The Certified Maps were provided to the Secretary of State this afternoon. With this action, the CRC has concluded their responsibilities related to the physical line drawing process. However, the CRC retains certain authority, such as defending the Certified Maps in any legal proceedings.

You should note that the Commission did not make any changes between the Final Draft Maps approved July 28, 2011 and the Certified Maps approved today.

An interactive version of the CRC's Final Draft plans can be found at the Statewide Database, in the "** to be presented **" drop-down box, by following this link:

http://swdb.berkeley.edu/gis/gis2011

Senate Majority Caucus Data Report of the CRC Certified Senate Plan

The Senate Majority Caucus has processed the CRC's Certified Senate Plans and produced the following reports to help Senators in understanding the proposed districts.

The Senate districts include district numbers, however it is important to note that the numbering scheme has changed significantly. In order to determine which members live in which proposed district you will need to review the document below:

Elected Representative Locator in CRC Certified Senate Districts

Below is a report that includes a one-page map of all Senate districts, along with basic registration and demographic information:

Summary Report of CRC Certified Senate Districts (Statewide) Population & Data

Below is a detailed report of all Senate districts that includes detailed registration, demographic and geographic information:

Detailed Report of CRC Certified Senate Districts (Statewide) Census, Elections & Registration data

Below is a detailed glossary that will define the various terms used in the reports:

Redistricting Term Glossary
Creating the SWBD Official Redistricting Dataset

Quick Overview of CRC Certified Senate Districts with Maps:

SD01	SD02	SD03	SD04	SD05
SD06	SD07	SD08	SD09	SD10
SD11	SD12	SD13	SD14	SD15
SD16	SD17	SD18	SD19	SD20
SD21	SD22	SD23	SD24	SD25
SD26	SD27	SD28	SD29	SD30
SD31	SD32	SD33	SD34	SD35
SD36	SD37	SD38	SD39	SD40

Senate Majority Caucus Data Report of the CRC Certified Assembly Plan

• Elected Representative Locator in CRC Certified Assembly Districts
• Summary Report of CRC Certified Assembly Districts (Statewide) Population & Data
• Detailed Report of CRC Certified Assembly Districts (Statewide) Census, Elections & Registration data

Senate Majority Caucus Data Report of the CRC Certified US House Plan

• Elected Representative Locator in CRC Certified US House Districts
• Summary Report of CRC Certified US House Districts (Statewide) Population & Data
• Detailed Report of CRC Certified US House Districts (Statewide) Census, Elections & Registration data

 

Commissioners Selected, Staff to be Hired

January 7, 2011

In mid-December the first eight members of the Citizens Redistricting Commission selected the final six members who will serve together on the 14-member board. As required by the Voters First Act, five of the members are registered Democrats, five are registered Republicans and four are registered either as Decline-to-State or with a third party.

The final six commissioners selected were Gabino Aguirre, D–Ventura County; Maria Blanco, D–Los Angeles County; Michelle DiGuilio-Matz, DTS–San Joaquin County; Lilbert "Gil" R. Ontai, R–San Diego County; M. Andre Parvenu, DTS–Los Angeles County; and Michael Ward, R–Orange County.

They, along with the Commission's original eight members —Vincent Baraba, Cynthia Dai,Jodie Filkins Webber, Stanley Forbes, Connie Galambos Malloy, Elaine Kuo, Jeanne Raya, and Peter Yao — will redraw the lines for California's State Senate and Assembly, and Board of Equalization districts, as well as California's Congressional delegation, based on information gathered during the 2010 Census.

As the State Auditor's role in managing the commissioner selection process comes to an end, the Secretary of State's office will assist the Commission as it hires its prescribed staff, including an Executive Director. The phone number to reach the Commission, (866) 356-5217, and the website, www.wedrawthelines.ca.gov, remain the same.