Redistricting as a Means for Equity and Community Empowerment
Redistricting as a Means for Equity and Community Empowerment
Despite advances over the last couple of decades, California still faces racial and economic disparities in housing, health, education, income, criminal justice, and more. To build on previous progress and move toward a more equitable California, the communities most impacted by inequity will need a voice in shaping the future of our state. Increasing the influence of these communities requires (1) governments that are more responsive to their needs and (2) the skill and know-how for impactful civic engagement.
Every ten years, the redistricting process creates a powerful opportunity to further strengthen the voice of low-income communities of color and enhance their ability to elect candidates of choice. For these reasons, Advancement Project California convenes the Integrated Voter Engagement (IVE) Redistricting Alliance and co-convenes with Community Coalition the People’s Bloc in Los Angeles. These coalitions empower low-income, Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) residents to participate in the 2021 state and local redistricting processes, respectively, and strengthen the organizational ecosystem needed to sustain long-term, equity-centered change.
Redistricting determines who wins elections and writes the laws that affect everyday Californians for the next ten years.
How district lines are drawn can either (1) keep a community together, enhancing their ability to elect candidates of choice and keep elected officials accountable or (2) break it apart, diluting its political power to ever elect or influence representatives who are responsive to their needs. For too long, redistricting has been used as a weapon against low-income and BIPOC communities — to break up, disempower, disenfranchise, erase them. Once a decade, we get the chance to change this, by empowering communities to advocate for fair district lines, which will strengthen their political voice and benefit them for years to come.
Redistricting is the process used by governments to redraw political district boundaries once the census count is complete. Communities change over time, and with new census data, district lines need to be adjusted, so all districts have equally sized populations. Redistricting applies to all levels of government, from state to local governments, including state legislature, board of supervisors, city councils, school boards, county boards, judicial, water districts, and more.
At the state level-Congressional, State Assembly, State Senate, and State Board of Equalization districts are decided by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CCRC) with public testimony from the community, whether written or verbal and in compliance with federal and state legal requirements.
Local redistricting is governed by a different body across each jurisdiction. Some of these maps are drawn by an independent or appointed citizens commission, while others are decided by the elected officials themselves. In Los Angeles County, our maps are determined by the Los Angeles County Citizens Redistricting Commission (LACCRC), and in the City of Los Angeles, it will be guided by the L.A. City Council Redistricting Advisory Commission (LACCRAC) with final approval by the City Council and Mayor.
Redistricting is about power: The power to ensure elected officials support our communities’ well-being and address our most pressing needs.
We all have issues we care about: whether it is healthcare, climate change, affordable housing, criminal justice reform, ending systemic racism, or something else. The people that make decisions about these issues are often elected officials – but how can we ensure that they fight for us?
When district lines keep communities with shared values, struggles, and needs together, they have more power to tell their stories, fight for their causes, and choose leaders to champion them. When our districts look like our community, our political power matches our people power. Redistricting gives our communities the opportunity to speak up, name where they live, what unites them, and advocate for district lines that keep them together. If these voices are not heard, community members will continue to lose valuable resources and opportunities to gain power or influence.
A snapshot of California and Los Angeles 2021 statewide redistricting processes
Throughout this year, the CCRC has held public hearings across regions to learn about the state’s diverse communities of interests (COIs) and how lines should be drawn to keep them together. With the release of the adjusted 2020 Census data in September, along with ongoing COI public input, and a multitude of district map proposals submitted by individuals and community organizations, including partners from the IVE Redistricting Alliance, the CCRC is now ready to enter the next phase of the redistricting process: drafting the first set of congressional, state senate, state assembly, and board of equalization maps.
The CCRC is anticipated to release draft maps as early as November 10, 2021. The public will then have a window of 14 days to submit public testimony. The CCRC will then take all public testimony into account to adjust and finalize the maps. Approving the maps requires support from at least nine commissioners (3 Democrats, 3 Republicans, and 3 other party-affiliated). Once the maps have been accepted, they are certified and submitted to the state legislature, along with a report detailing how these maps meet the required legal criteria. The deadline for the CCRC to finalize maps is December 27, 2021.
The City and County of Los Angeles will follow a similar redistricting process to the CCRC, including holding public hearings, collecting public testimony and map submissions, and complying with similar legal criteria. The LACCRAC released their draft maps on September 26 and finalized maps on October 22 to be presented to the City Council. The Los Angeles City Council and Mayor are set to approve final maps by December 27. The LACCRC is anticipated to release their draft maps by the end of October, the earliest, and approve final maps by December 15 for the County of Los Angeles.
NOW is the time to mobilize communities and ensure commissioners and elected officials draw fair district lines for a more equitable California and Los Angeles in the coming decade! Below is more information on how you can be heard at the state, county, and/or city levels.
Be Heard! Advocate for your Community & Fair District Lines
Two months left for the public to engage and uplift their feedback and recommendations on district lines to commissions.
California Citizens Redistricting Commission
L.A. City Council Redistricting Advisory Commission
County of Los Angeles Citizens Redistricting Commission
Draw My Community Mapping Tool
(916) 323-0323
California Citizens Redistricting Commission, 721 Capitol Mall, Suite 260, Sacramento, CA 95814, United States
redistricting.lacity@lacity.org
(213) 263-5765
Los Angeles City Hall, 200 N. Spring Street, Room 275, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Public comment form for upcoming meetings
Gayla Kraetsch Hartsough, Ph.D., Executive Director- ghartsough@crc.lacounty.gov
(818) 907-0397
Los Angeles County Citizens Redistricting Commission
c/o KH Consulting Group
P.O. Box 56447
Sherman Oaks, CA 91413