California redistricting is governed by Article XXI of the state constitution, modified significantly in 2008 by a ballot initiative that will first be effective for the 2011 redistricting process. The state legislature will draw congressional districts, subject to gubernatorial veto. An independent fourteen-member citizens’ commission will draw the state legislative districts; the first eight members of the commission are chosen randomly from pools of vetted applicants sorted by partisan affiliation, and those eight choose the other six. Both congressional districts and state legislative districts must be contiguous, preserve political boundaries (including neighborhoods and communities of interest) where possible, and encourage compactness where practicable; in state legislative districts, candidate residences may not be considered, and districts may not be drawn to favor a candidate or party. Each state legislative map is also subject to a popular referendum.
Read more about California’s redistricting process.
Other Resources
Below, view a presentation by Justin Levitt on choosing California’s state Redistricting Citizen Commission.
PRESENTATION: Choosing California’s State Redistricting Citizen’s Commission