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May 14, 2001 TO: Board of Supervisors SUBJECT: Redistricting Process The purpose of this study session is to review the laws and procedures governing redistricting and begin the redistricting process. We will give an overview of the criteria to be used in determining district boundaries, redistricting timelines, an explanation of the use of our Geographic Information System (GIS) with redistricting software, and the overall process. This is the first in a series of study sessions which will provide an opportunity for the Board to direct staff for further information as well as provide an opportunity for the public to have input into the process. Laws and Procedures Following each decennial federal census, and using that census as a basis, the Board of Supervisors is required to adjust the boundaries of the supervisorial districts so that they are as nearly equal in population as is practical, in accordance with the applicable provisions of the federal Voting Rights Act. In establishing the boundaries of the districts, the Board must also consider the following factors: (a) topography, (b) geography, (c) cohesiveness, contiguity, integrity, and compactness of territory, and (d) community of interests of the districts. (Cal. Elec. Code Section 21500.) Section 21500 places "equality of population" between districts as the paramount requirement. Each supervisorial district should be between 17%-23% of the total population. This is because if the districts are of different populations, the votes within the larger districts have less weight than those within the smaller districts. (For example, if District A has 10 voters and District B has 100 voters, the votes in the District A have ten times the power of the votes in District B). This notwithstanding, case law recognizes that population parity cannot be absolute, particularly when the Board must also take into account the legitimate local interests reflected in the other enumerated factors for drawing district lines. Existing Conditions The Census 2000 reported that the Calaveras County population was 40,554. This population was divided among the five supervisorial districts as follows: |
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As can be easily seen from this table, a District 5 contains a higher percentage of the population and the new district lines will need to be re-drawn to remove some population from this district. It is also apparent that District 2 has less population than it should have. The district lines will need to be re-drawn using the criteria outlined below. Criteria Used: Topography and (b) Geography. These factors advise the use of obvious natural barriers, such as rivers and mountain ranges. However, the boundaries should not adhere to topography so much that they divide areas nonsensically. Also, other district lines, such as tax rate area codes must be taken into account. (c) Cohesiveness, Contiguity, Integrity, and Compactness of Territory and (d) Communities of Interests. As well as having districts that are cohesive and contiguous in nature, these factors are intended to protect the strength of minority votes, as well as other groups that share similar interests. If a group is sufficiently large and geographically compact, that group should stay together in a single district. Compactness does not refer to geometric shapes but to the ability of citizens to relate to each other and their representatives and to the ability of representatives to relate effectively to their constituency. It also speaks to relationships that are facilitated by shared interests and by membership in a political community including a city and county. It is also useful to take into consideration the growth rate in each area in order to ensure that the populations remain roughly equal for the next 10-year period. Timeline: August 28, 2001. The Final Redistricting Plan must be adopted on or before August 28, 2001, since they do not go into effect until 30 days after the Ordinance is adopted. This date is critical because the district lines must be in place by the first day that candidates can file for local elections on September 28, 2001. October 31, 2001. This is the last day for supervisorial and municipal reapportionment. If this deadline is not met, a redistricting commission composed of the District Attorney, the County Assessor and the County Elections official will convene and draw the district lines before December 31, 2001. Geographic Units: There are several geographic units that can be utilized in the redistricting process, the most important of which are the census blocks and the tax rate areas. Census blocks are small areas bounded on all sides both by visible features, such as streets and roads (i.e., city blocks), streams, railroad tracks, and by invisible boundaries, such as city, town, and county limits, property lines and short imaginary extensions of streets and roads. The number of people in a block ranges from about 30 - 85. The census blocks and block level data will be used in analyzing various scenarios with the GIS system. Once a general idea or plan is developed, the lines will be adjusted to be coterminous with the tax rate area boundaries to the extent feasible. The population for the district will be manually re-calculated to reflect these changes. The tax rate area codes are extremely important in drawing the boundaries for the supervisorial districts. The Elections department relies on the tax rate codes for determining the location of the voting population. Every effort will be made to draw the boundaries along the tax rate area codes in order to minimize the amount of time spent by the Elections Department and the Assessor's Office after the new district lines are established. Use of the GIS and Redistricting Software: The process of redistricting in 2001 should be much more efficient
and accurate than in the past, due to the use of the Geographical
Information System (GIS), and accompanying redistricting software.
With the redistricting software, "what if" scenarios
can be performed with relative ease (compared to paper maps and
hand calculations used in the past), meaning that the impact
on population, racial composition and voting age by district
can be readily seen on-line as boundary lines are moved to encompass
or exclude tracts or blocks. The net result is that we would
be able to address the impact of boundary changes on population
while at the same time note changes to essential criteria such
as communities of interest, compactness and other criteria previously
identified. |
