What criteria will our City Council use when drawing district lines?

1.    Federal Laws

  • Equal Population (based on total population of residents as determined by the most recent federal decennial census and adjusted by the State to reassign incarcerated persons to the last known place of residence)

  • Federal Voting Rights Act

  • No Racial Gerrymandering


2.    California Criteria for Cities (to the extent practicable and in the following order of priority)

  1. Geographically contiguous (areas that meet only at the points of adjoining corners are not contiguous.  Areas that are separated by water and not connected by a bridge, tunnel, or ferry service are not contiguous.

  2. Undivided neighborhoods and “communities of interest” (Socio-economic geographic areas that should be kept together for purposes of its effective and fair representation)

  3. Easily identifiable boundaries

  4. Compact (Do not bypass one group of people to get to a more distant group of people)

Prohibited:

“Shall not favor or discriminate against a political party.”

3.    Other Traditional Districting Principles 

  • Respect voters’ choices / continuity in office

  • Future population growth

Show All Answers

1. What are district-based elections?
2. What election system does the City currently use?
3. Why does districting matter to me?
4. What criteria will our City Council use when drawing district lines?
5. What are Communities of Interest?
6. How can I get involved?
7. What do the acronyms and categories mean on the demographic sheets?
8. Do I have to submit a completed map?
9. Can I submit more than one map?
10. What happens to the drafted maps?
11. Where can I learn more about districting?