Future of California Elections webinar 
1.5 hours

VINCE HALL:  SO, GOOD MORNING LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.
I THINK WE ARE GOING TO GET STARTED.
WE STILL HAVE MORE FOLKS JOINING US, BUT OUT OF RESPECT FOR THE TIME AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WERE ON TIME, AS WELL AS TRYING TO MAKE AS MUCH OF THE HOUR AS AVAILABLE AS POSSIBLE, WE ARE GOING TO GET STARTED.
MY NAME IS VINCE HALL.
I’M THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF FUTURE CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS.
FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT DON’T KNOW US, FUTURE CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS WAS FORMED IN 2011, IT IS REALLY A BROAD COHORT OF ORGANIZATIONS FROM BOTH THE GOVERNMENT SECTOR AS WELL AS THE NONPROFIT SECTOR THAT ARE WORKING TO MODERNIZE ELECTIONS AND EXPAND PARTICIPATION.
AND THE WORK OF FUTURE CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS HAS MADE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT IN CALIFORNIA.
WE OWE A GREAT DEBT OF GRATITUDE TO THE JAMES IRVINE FOUNDATION FOR THEIR GENEROUS SUPPORT OF FUTURE CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS, AS WELL AS THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT PARTICIPATE IN OUR ORGANIZATION AS WELL.
WE HAD OUR ANNUAL CONFERENCE IN FEBRUARY.
THE EVENT WAS SOLD OUT.
WE REACHED OUT MAXIMUM CAPACITY, AND WE HAD A LOT OF INTEREST IN SOME OF THE PANELS FROM THOSE WHO WEREN’T ABLE TO REGISTER FOR THE CONFERENCE.
WE ALSO HAD INTEREST FROM PEOPLE WHO WERE AT THE CONFERENCE BUT WERE ATTENDING OTHER BREAK OUT SESSIONS THAT CONFLICTED WITH THE SESSIONS THAT WE ARE REPLICATING IN THESE WEBINARS.
SO WE HAVE THIS WEBINAR TODAY, WHERE WE ARE ESSENTIALLY RECREATING A BREAK-OUT SESSION FROM OUR CONFERENCE, FOCUSED ON REDISTRICTING, AND THEN IN MAY WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A SECOND WEBINAR, WHICH IS GOING TO HIGHLIGHT, RECREATE A DIFFERENT BREAK OUT SESSION FROM THE CONFERENCE.
THAT’S GOING TO TAKE PLACE ON MAY 10TH AT 11 A.M., IF YOU WISH TO MARK YOUR CALENDARS.
AND THE SUBJECT OF THAT WEBINAR WILL BE FUNDING DEMOCRACY, THE FUTURE OF SUSTAINABLE ELECTION FUNDING AND GOVERNANCE.
THAT WILL BE ON TUESDAY, MAY 10TH.
BUT TODAY’S TOPIC IS REDISTRICTING.
AND TO GUIDE US THROUGH THE CONVERSATION, I’M REALLY PLEASED TO WELCOME kathay FeNG, WHO IS A VERY ACTIVE MEMBER OF FUTURE OF CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS.
BUT SHE IS ALSO THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF COMMON CAUSE, AND HER ROLE TODAY IS MODERATOR.
BUT SHE COULD EASILY BE A PANELIST.
SHE HAS A VERY SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF EXPERTISE IN REDISTRICTING AND IN DISTRICTING, WITHOUT THE “RE,” JUST DISTRICTING, PURSUANT TO THE CALIFORNIA VOTING RIGHTS ACT.
SO KATHAY, WELCOME.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR MODERATING TODAY’S DISCUSSION, AND I’M GOING TO TURN THE CALL OVER TO YOU.
KATHAY FENG:  THANKS SO MUCH, VINCE.
AND A QUICK THANKS TO THE FUTURE CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS COLLABORATIVE.
FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE NEW TO THAT ACRONYM, FOCE.
SOMETIMES WE SAY “FOCE,” SOMETIMES WE SAY “FO-SAY,” BUT THAT IS A COLLABORATIVE OF NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS THAT WORK IN THE COMMUNITY AROUND VOTING AND ELECTIONS, AS WELL AS ELECTION OFFICIALS, THOSE WHO RUN OUR ELECTIONS AND ADMINISTER THE LAWS THAT ARE REQUIRED TO CONDUCT A FAIR AND TIMELY ELECTION EVERY CYCLE.
SO WE HAVE GOT A LOT OF FOLKS WHO CARE ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE HAVE THE RIGHT TO VOTE AND ALSO A MEANINGFUL VOTE WHEN THEY GO AND PARTICIPATE EACH ELECTION DAY.
AND I THINK THAT IT’S A IMPORTANT CONNECTION TO THE PROCESS OF REDISTRICTING.
SO THE TITLE OF TODAY’S SESSION IS “DISTRICTING WHAT?
UNDERSTANDING THE POWER OF LINE DRAWING IN YOUR COMMUNITY.”
AND TODAY WE ARE GOING TO ATTEMPT TO DO A COUPLE DIFFERENT THINGS.
WE ARE GOING TO START FROM A PLACE OF ASSUMING THAT YOU KNOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT REDISTRICTING, BUT PERHAPS YOU NEED A LITTLE BIT OF A PRIMER.
BUT ALSO, AS WE LOOK AT THIS LANDSCAPE, WE WANT TO INTRODUCE FOLKS TO SOME OF THE CHANGING LAWS AND REQUIREMENTS AND PROCESSES AND WHAT WE HAVE TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN THE NEXT DECADE.
AND SO TO START OUT WITH, A BIT OF A PRIMER.
WHAT IS REDISTRICTING?
THIS IS THE PROCESS THAT TAKES PLACE, USUALLY EVERY 10 YEARS, RIGHT AFTER WE TAKE THE CENSUS.
USUALLY THAT’S – THE NEXT ONE UP WILL BE IN 2020.
WE WILL HAVE A ROUND OF LOOKING AT THE NEW NUMBERS, AND AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL, THE CENSUS BUREAU WILL DETERMINE WHAT THE NEW POPULATION OF EACH STATE IS BASED ON RESPONSES TO THE CENSUS.
AND WE WILL ENGAGE IN A PROCESS CALLED “REAPPORTIONMENT,” WHERE THEY APPORTION THE NUMBER OF CONGRESSIONAL SEATS IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO EACH STATE BASED ON POPULATION.
A LITTLE BIT MORE COMPLICATED THAN THAT, BUT IN SIMPLE TERMS, THEN, FOR A STATE LIKE CALIFORNIA, WHERE WE HAVE A POPULATION THAT IS GROWING, THAT MEANS THAT IN PAST YEARS WE HAVE GROWN IN THE NUMBER OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEATS, AND IT’S THE REASON WE HAVE GOT 53 SEATS, AND OTHER STATES MAY BE GROWING OR SHRINKING RELATIVE TO OTHER STATES.
AND SO THEIR NUMBER IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WILL GO UP OR DOWN BASED ON THEIR POPULATION CHANGES.
OKAY.
SO THAT IS STEP ONE.
THEN STEP TWO IS, YOU USE THOSE SAME NUMBERS, AND YOU’RE LOOKING AT THE POPULATION OF EACH STATE, AND YOU ARE SAYING WELL, OUR NUMBER OF CONGRESSIONAL MEMBERS MAY HAVE CHANGED, OR IT MAY HAVE STAYED THE SAME.
BUT YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT EACH DISTRICT, EACH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT, HAS THE SAME NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN IT.
THERE WAS A CASE RECENTLY, EVENWEL   V. ABBOTT, THAT MADE ITS WAY TO THE SUPREME COURT, THAT SAID MAYBE WE SHOULDN’T BE LOOKING AT TOTAL POPULATION, WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT SOME OTHER NUMBER, LIKE VOTING – PEOPLE WHO ARE ELIGIBLE TO VOTE OR PEOPLE WHO ARE REGISTERED TO VOTE.
AND THE SUPREME COURT SAID, ACTUALLY THE COMMON PRACTICE IS TO USE TOTAL POPULATION.
THERE’S NO REASON TO CHANGE FROM THAT.
DO STAY WITH THAT.
THEY SAID THAT THIS IS A “SHOULD.”
NOW, WE MAY SEE LITIGATION COMING DOWN THE LINE THAT SAYS WE – YOU KNOW, WE AS A STATE – PROBABLY NOT CALIFORNIA, BUT ANOTHER STATE – WANTS TO USE SOME OTHER NUMBER OTHER THAN TOTAL POPULATION.
THIS QUESTION IS STILL SOMEWHAT OPEN.
BUT FOR THE TIME BEING, AS WE TALK ABOUT HOW REDISTRICTING WILL WORK IN CALIFORNIA, LET’S START FROM THE PRESUMPTION THAT WE ARE USING TOTAL POPULATION, AND WE ARE DIVIDING BY 53.
THAT GIVES YOU THE IDEAL NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN EACH DISTRICT, AND NOW YOU’RE GOING TO ENGAGE IN A PROCESS CALLED “REDISTRICTING,” WHERE EACH ONE OF THOSE DISTRICTS SHOULD HAVE CLOSE TO THE SAME NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN IT.
THAT PROCESS GETS REPLICATED ALL THE WAY DOWN TO EVERY LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT THAT HAS DISTRICTS.
NOW, NOT EVERY LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT HAS DISTRICTS, BUT FOR THE MOST PART, OUR STATE SENATE, OUR STATE ASSEMBLY, AND THEN WHEN YOU GO ON DOWN, MANY CITY COUNCILS, CERTAINLY OUR BOARDS OF SUPERVISORS AT THE COUNTY LEVEL, AND MANY SCHOOL BOARDS HAVE DISTRICTS.
AND SO AS AN EXAMPLE, IN LOS ANGELES WE HAVE 15 CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS, AND EACH ONE OF THOSE CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS WILL BE REDISTRICTED IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY EACH HAVE THE SAME NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN IT.
THAT IS THE PROCESS THAT WE ENGAGE IN, SOMEWHERE IN THE RANGE OF 20-21, SOMETIMES IT LEADS INTO 20-22, SOMETIMES IT LASTS FOR A LONG TIME BECAUSE OF LITIGATION.
SO AS WE TALK ABOUT HOW REDISTRICTING SHOULD WORK OR CAN WORK, THERE ARE A LOT OF OPEN QUESTIONS.
AS I HAVE MENTIONED BEFORE, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WAS RECENTLY LITIGATED IS WHAT’S THE – WHAT’S THE BASE NUMBER THAT YOU’RE GOING TO USE?
IS IT TOTAL POPULATION, OR IS IT PEOPLE WHO ARE ELIGIBLE TO VOTE?
OR IS IT PEOPLE WHO ARE REGISTERED TO VOTED?
WE HAVE RESOLVED THAT TEMPORARILY TO SAY THAT AT LEAST ACCORDING TO THE SUPREME COURT, TOTAL POPULATION IS A NUMBER THAT CAN BE USED AND MAYBE EVEN SHOULD BE USED.
THE NEXT QUESTION IS WHO SHOULD BE DRAWING THOSE LINES.
AND THEN AN ADDITIONAL QUESTION IS, FOR THOSE JURISDICTIONS THAT DO NOT HAVE DISTRICTS, DOES IT MAKE SENSE FOR THEM TO MOVE TO A DISTRICTED FORM OF ALLOCATING VOTES AMONGST REPRESENTATIVES, OR IS THERE SOME OTHER WAY OF ALLOCATING VOTES.
SO WE WILL BE TALKING ABOUT ALL OF THOSE QUESTIONS TODAY, AND HOW CALIFORNIA HAS STARTED TO RESOLVE SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS, BUT ALSO THERE ARE SOME NEW LAWS AND PROPOSED LAWS THAT ARE COMING DOWN THE PIKE THAT I THINK SOME OF OUR SPEAKERS WOULD LOVE TO SHARE WITH FOLKS.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CALIFORNIA HAS BECOME A MODEL FOR IS CREATING A DIFFERENT BODY TO DRAW THE LINES AT THE STATE AND CONGRESSIONAL LEVEL.
SO IN 2008  AND 10, WE PASSED A SET OF PROPOSITIONS THROUGH VOTER APPROVAL PROCESS TO CHANGE BOTH WHO DRAWS THE LINES – INSTEAD OF THE STATE LEGISLATURE DRAWING CONGRESSIONAL AND STATE LEGISLATIVE LINES, WE CREATED A 14-PERSON CITIZEN’S REDISTRICTING COMMISSION, AND WE ALSO SAID HERE ARE THE SET OF RULES THAT YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW, AND HERE’S THE KINDS OF HEARINGS THAT YOU MUST HAVE.
AND, YOU KNOW, BY THE WAY, MAKE SURE THAT IT’S OPEN AND INCLUSIVE, ET CETERA ET CETERA.
VOTERS PASSED THAT, AND THEN WE HAD, FOR THE FIRST TIME, A VERY HUGE PROCESS THAT WAS UNKNOWN TO EVERYBODY, BUT WHERE A LOT OF ORGANIZATIONS WEIGHED IN TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PROCESS WOULD BE AS HOPED, WHICH WAS AN INCLUSIVE AND REFLECTIVE ONE.
WE ARE REALLY EXCITED, BECAUSE WHEN WE FIRST OPENED UP THE APPLICATION PROCESS, THE BEST ESTIMATES WERE THAT MAYBE 500, 600 PEOPLE MIGHT APPLY.
AND IN FACT SOME 30,000 PUT THEIR NAME INTO THE HAT INITIALLY.
AND THROUGH A VERY VIGOROUS PROCESS OF ESSAY WRITING AND INTERVIEWS AND SCREENING, THE FINAL 14 WERE CHOSEN.
AND AMONGST THOSE 14, SOMEBODY VERY SPECIAL, CONNIE GALAMBOS MALLOY, MANAGED TO MAKE HER WAY THROUGH A HUGE WINNOWING PROCESS TO BECOME ONE OF THE FINALISTS AND ULTIMATELY ONE OF THE COMMISSIONERS.
SHE WORKED FOR A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION AT THE TIME IN SAN FRANCISCO, AND HAS BEEN SINCE THEN GOTTEN SUCH THE BUG AROUND REDISTRICTING AND OTHER DEMOCRACY REFORMS THAT SHE HAS JOINED THE JAMES IRVINE FOUNDATION TO BECOME A PROGRAMMER DIRECTOR FOR THE CALIFORNIA DEMOCRACY PROGRAM.
SHE HAS BEEN WITH THE IRVINE FOUNDATION SINCE JANUARY OF 2015, AND SHE LEADS THE FOUNDATION’S EFFORT IN GRANT MAKING AROUND GOVERNANCE REFORM, ELECTION POLICIES AND PRACTICES, VOTER AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT, AND IMMIGRANT-IMMIGRATION.
BUT REALLY PART OF THE REASON WHY SHE IS ALSO HERE IS BECAUSE SHE WAS IN THAT FIRST CLOSE OF CALIFORNIA CITIZENS REDISTRICTING COMMISSIONERS.
AND REALLY WE SAW HER PUT HER LIFE INTO IT FOR APPROXIMATELY SIX MONTHS TO A YEAR.
AND SO WITH THAT I WOULD LIKE TO INVITE CONNIE MALLOY, OUR FIRST SPEAKER, TO PRESENT WHAT THE CALIFORNIA CITIZENS REDISTRICTING COMMISSION DID AND HOW it’s a MODEL FOR MANY OTHER STATES, BUT ALSO AT THE LOCAL LEVEL WHAT SOME OF OUR LOCALITIES ARE STARTING TO DO IT.
CONNIE MALLOY:  SURE.
AND THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE KIND WORDS, KATHAY.
I’M PROUD TO SAY I JUST RECENTLY PASSED THE HALFWAY MARK IN MY 10-YEAR TERM AS A CALIFORNIA REDISTRICTING COMMISSIONER.
AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT, WE DO STILL MEET OCCASIONALLY.
THERE ARE LAW SUITS PENDING FOR VARIOUS REASONS.
WE HAVE BEEN VICTORIOUS ON ALL COUNTS THUS FAR, BUT IT CERTAINLY IS SOMETHING THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO BE ACTIVE ON FOR THE FULL 10 YEARS IN SOME CAPACITY.
LET’S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
KATHAY TOUCHED ON SOME OF THESE POINTS.
I REALLY JUST WANTED TO EMPHASIZE, FROM A CITIZEN’S PERSPECTIVE – YOU KNOW, BEFORE THIS, WORKING ON THESE ISSUES BECAME MY DAY JOB, I WAS QUITE APPALLED WHEN I LEARNED ABOUT HOW REDISTRICTING ACTUALLY HAPPENED, THAT REALLY IT WASN’T VOTERS CHOOSING THEIR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES, BUT ELECTED OFFICIALS THAT WERE DRAWING THEIR OWN BOUNDARIES FOR THEIR DISTRICTS.
I MEAN, CAN YOU IMAGINE A MORE FLAGRANT CONFLICT OF INTEREST?
AND TO FURTHERMORE REALIZE THAT THE IMPACT OF THAT WAS THAT THE WAY THAT THE ELECTED OFFICIALS AND THE POLITICAL PARTIES WORKED IN CONCERT, THAT THEIR CAREERS AND THEIR ROLES IN THOSE POSITIONS WERE ALMOST ALWAYS SAFE.
ONE INTERESTING DATA POINT IS IN THE EIGHT YEARS FROM 2002-2010, WHEN YOU LOOK AT NEARLY 800 DIFFERENT STATE AND CONGRESSIONAL RACES, ONLY FIVE OF THOSE SEATS EVERY CHANGED PARTIES DURING THAT TIME.
AND THERE’S MANY DIFFERENT CUTS YOU COULD DO AROUND THE DATA, BUT IT – CLEARLY THE GAME WAS RIGGED.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, I DECIDED TO THROW MY NAME IN THE HAT, BECAUSE I FELT MORE COMPELLED, THAT IF THERE WAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE PART OF A SOLUTION AROUND THIS, THAT I WOULD WELCOME THE OPPORTUNITY.
LET’S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
CATHY TOUCHED ON THIS.
YOU KNOW, VOTERS REALLY SPOKE WITH THEIR VOTES AROUND BOTH PASSING THE VOTERS FIRST ACT, WHICH FOCUSED ON THE SENATE ASSEMBLY AND BOARD OF EQUALIZATION DISTRICTS, AND THEN THE SECOND, WHICH PASSED IN 2010, WAS EXPANDING, ESSENTIALLY, THAT SAME MODEL OF THE COMMISSION TO INCLUDE CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS.
SO IT INITIALLY ESTABLISHED THE COMMISSION WITH THAT FIRST ACT, AND THEN GAVE THE COMMISSION MORE WORK TO DO, EVEN BEFORE THEY HAD ACTUALLY BEEN SEEDED FOR THOSE INITIAL TASKS.
NEXT SLIDE.
AND SO HERE ARE THE INITIAL COMMISSIONERS THAT WERE TASKED WITH THIS TESTING OUT, DEVELOPING AND TESTING THIS NEW MODEL.
THERE WERE 14 OF US, COMPLETE STRANGERS, AND WE HAD ABOUT EIGHT MONTHS TO GET SWORN IN, TO WORK TOGETHER TO LAUNCH A STATE-WIDE AGENCY, TO HIRE A TEAM OF SPECIALIZED STAFF AND CONSULTANTS, TO CONDUCT AN OUTREACH PROCESS THAT WOULD BE REPRESENTATIVE OF BOTH DEMOGRAPHIC AND GEOGRAPHIC, YOU KNOW, DIMENSIONS OF DIVERSITY THAT WE HAVE HERE IN CALIFORNIA, AND THAT THAT OUTREACH PROCESS WAS TO ALSO INFORM 177 DISTINCT DISTRICT MAPS AND ALL OF THE LEGAL ANALYSIS THAT HAD TO GO INTO FORMULATING THOSE IN A WAY THAT WAS COMPLIANT WITH THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL.
EACH OF THOSE MAPS, THEN, WE HAD TO WRITE A NARRATIVE REPORT AROUND WHAT THAT MAP MEANT, HOW WE HAD ARRIVED AT THAT PARTICULAR CONFIGURATION.
AND WE HAD TO CERTIFY THOSE MAPS WITH A MULTIPARTISAN VOTE.
AND SO THERE HAD BE A SUPER MAJORITY OF REPUBLICANS, DEMOCRATS, AND OTHERS – DECLINE TO STATE OR OTHER PARTIES – THAT WOULD AGREE THAT THESE WERE ACTUALLY THE BEST REPRESENTATION BASED ON THE DATA AND THE TESTIMONY THAT WE HAD TO WORK WITH.
WE WENT THROUGH THAT ENTIRE PROCESS LIVE, IN PUBLIC, AS WE TRAVELED UP AND DOWN THE STATE.
AND SO EVERYTHING THAT WE SAID OR DID IN RELATION TO THIS PROCESS WAS LIVE STREAMED AND ARCHIVED AND MINUTES AVAILABLE FOR THE PUBLIC.
SO IT WAS QUITE A MICROSCOPE TO BE UNDER FOR THIS KIND OF EXPERIMENT IN DEMOCRACY.
NEXT PAGE.
WITH THE PUBLIC INPUT PROCESS, JUST WANTED TO ADD A BIT MORE DETAIL THERE.
SO WE DID A TOTAL OF 34 PUBLIC HEARINGS.
THE FARTHEST NORTH WE WENT WAS REDDING, THE FARTHEST SOUTH WAS SAN DIEGO, AND QUITE A FEW STOPS IN BETWEEN.
WE DID A FIRST ROUND OF HEARINGS THAT WERE PRIOR TO EVER PUTTING ANY LINES ON THE COMPUTERS, JUST TO HEAR WHAT THE PUBLIC INTERESTS WERE AND CONCERNS AND PRIORITIES.
EACH OF THOSE PUBLIC HEARINGS WOULD LAST BETWEEN THREE-SIX HOURS.
YOU KNOW, I REMEMBER ONE DOWN IN LONG BEACH WITH HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE, STANDING ROOM ONLY, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE SITTING ON THE FLOOR, WAITING OUT IN THE HALL.
AND WE HAD TO EVENTUALLY END JUST BEFORE MIDNIGHT FOR A SESSION THAT HAD STARTED AT SIX P.M., JUST BECAUSE THE VENUE WAS GOING TO KICK US OUT.
I WAS REALLY OVERWHELMED WITH THE LEVEL OF INTEREST AND EXCITEMENT.
ONCE PEOPLE UNDERSTOOD AND LEARNED ABOUT WHAT REDISTRICTING WAS, THERE WAS ALL THIS ENERGY AROUND STORIES OF PEOPLE FEELING LIKE THEY HAVE BEEN MISREPRESENTED OR UNDER REPRESENTED FOR YEARS IN TERMS OF HOW THEIR DISTRICTS WERE DRAWN, AND THEY REALLY SAW THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO IT DIFFERENTLY.
I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THEIR OPINIONS WERE HEARD.
SO LET ME END – WE OVER 2700 TESTIMONIES, UPWARDS OF 20,000 WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS, MANY OF WHICH WERE FROM INDIVIDUALS, AND A NUMBER OF WHICH WERE ALSO ON BEHALF OF ORGANIZATIONS OR NETWORKS OR ASSOCIATIONS THAT WERE REALLY KIND OF AGGRAVATING PARTICULAR INTERESTS FOR PURPOSES OF THE COMMISSION.
AND SOME OF THOSE SUBMISSIONS ACTUALLY TOOK THE FORM OF MAPS.
I REMEMBER SOME VIVIDLY THAT WERE HANDWRITTEN, HAND DRAWN MAPS, AND OTHERS THAT WERE, YOU KNOW, GIS, LOOKS COMPLETELY OFFICIAL, AS THOUGH THE COMMISSION HAD DONE THEM THEMSELVES.
SO QUITE A VARIETY OF PUBLIC INPUT.
NEXT SLIDE.
THE MAP CRITERIA THAT WE HAD TO FOLLOW, I PLACED HERE ON THIS SLIDE.
THEY WERE IN RANKED ORDER, SO IN TERMS OF IMPORTANCE OF COMPLIANCE, WE HAD TO LOOK AT EQUAL POPULATION AND MAKING SURE THAT THE DISTRICTS WERE OF THE SAME SIZE.
THE FEDERAL VOTING RIGHTS ACT, WHICH OF COURSE HAS CHANGED A BIT SINCE THE TIME WHEN WE DREW THE MAPS, AND WILL BE A CONSIDERATION WITH SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT TERMS FOR THE NEXT ROUND.
THEY NEEDED, THE DISTRICTS NEED TO BE CONTIGUOUS.
AND SO YOU CAN’T HAVE PART OF A DISTRICT IN ONE PLACE AND THE OTHER PART OF IT SOMEWHERE ELSE WITHOUT IT TOUCHING.
IT SOUNDS PRETTY COMMON SENSE, BUT THERE ARE ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, ARE EXCEPTIONS TO THAT THAT EXIST.
SO THAT WAS ALSO A CRITERIA.
THIS NEXT – THE NUMBER FOUR CRITERIA, ABOUT THE INTEGRITY OF CITIES, COUNTIES, NEIGHBORHOODS, AND COMMUNITIES OF INTEREST WAS PROBABLY THE MOST CHALLENGING, I THINK, OF THE CRITERIA IN TERMS OF HOW TO PRIORITIZE.
THERE WERE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT ELEMENTS LISTED THERE.
WHEN DOES A CITY TRUMP A COUNTY OR A COMMUNITY OF INTEREST TRUMP A NEIGHBORHOOD, RIGHT?
THERE’S A LOT OF SUBJECTIVITY AND ANALYSIS THAT – AND DEBATE AMONGST THE COMMISSIONERS THAT WENT INTO MAKING THOSE DECISIONS.
COMPACT WAS ANOTHER CRITERIA.
WE HAD TO, AS MUCH AS WE COULD, KEEP THE DISTRICTS IN SOME SORT OF LOGICAL SHAPE AND NOT BYPASSING NEARBY AREAS.
WE ALSO ATTEMPT TO NEST, WHERE POSSIBLE.
AND BY “NESTING,” THAT MEANS IN TERMS OF DISTRICT SIZE, YOU CAN HAVE ASSEMBLY SEATS NESTED INSIDE OF SENATE DISTRICT.
SO SMALLER DISTRICTS COULD COMPRISE, BE BROUGHT TOGETHER TO COMPRISE A LARGER DISTRICT AT A DIFFERENT – IN A DIFFERENT LEVEL.
AND THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT AT TIMES WE WERE ABLE TO DO.
BUT AGAIN, AS YOU GET DOWN INTO THE RANKED ORDER, WE WOULD NEVER WANT TO DO SOMETHING ON THE BOTTOM OF THE LIST THAT WOULD CAUSE A CONFLICT FOR SOMETHING HIGHER UP.
SO THESE ARE IN PRIORITY ORDER.
AND FINALLY, AS OPPOSED TO THE CONTRAST OF WHERE WE HAD BEEN BEFORE AS A STATE, THE COMMISSION WAS NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE ANY CONSIDERATION OF POLITICAL CANDIDATES, INCUMBENTS, OR PARTIES BY ANY MEANS.
NOT CONSIDERATION, AND NO CONTACT WITH THEM IN THE PROCESS.
NEXT PAGE.
JUST WANTED TO UNDERSCORE COMMUNITIES OF INTEREST, WHICH WAS OUR – AGAIN, FELL INTO THAT 4TH CRITERIA THAT WE HAD APPLY.
AND THE DEFINITION OF COMMUNITIES OF INTEREST IS A CONTIGUOUS POPULATION THAT HAS SOME SHARED SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC INTERESTS, AND THAT, BECAUSE OF THOSE INTERESTS THAT REALLY BIND THEM TOGETHER, THAT IT MAKES SENSE FOR THOSE PEOPLE TO BE INCLUDED TOGETHER AND KEPT WHOLE IN TERMS OF WHERE THEY ARE PLACED IN A GIVEN DISTRICT.
AND THE COMMUNITY OF INTEREST IS SOMETHING DIFFERENT IN TERMS OF WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT A CITY OR A COUNTY, AND AT TIMES NEIGHBORHOODS.
THERE ARE FAIRLY COMMON STANDARDS FOR HOW, YOU KNOW, A CITY HAS PARTICULAR BOUNDARIES.
WE ALL HAVE A COMMON UNDERSTANDING OF WHERE L.A. CITY OR COUNTY BEGINS AND ENDS.
BY THE TIME YOU START LOOKING AT NEIGHBORHOODS TO A CERTAIN EXTENT AND EVEN COMMUNITIES OF INTERESTING, THESE ARE ARENAS WHICH WERE LARGELY SELF DEFINED, WHERE WE WOULD GET DATA AND TESTIMONY AROUND THE TYPES OF THINGS THAT UNITED COMMUNITIES, BE IT, YOU KNOW, BEING ON A MAJOR TRANSPORTATION CORRIDOR, AND HOW THE TRANSPORTATION CORRIDOR SERVED AS AN ECONOMIC DRIVER FOR THE REGION.
IT COULD BE A PARTICULAR RECENT IMMIGRANT POPULATION THAT HAS PARTICULAR INTERESTS AND NEEDS AND THEREFORE SHOULD BE KEPT WHOLE.
AND SO AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, RECONCILING ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT LEVELS WAS SOMETHING THAT ACTUALLY COMPRISED I THINK THE MAJORITY OF OUR TIME ONCE WE ACTUALLY GOT TO DRAWING THE MAPS.
NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
ON THE REFLECTIONS, AS I SHARED, THIS COMPETING AND AMBIGUOUS CRITERIA IS I THINK THE MOST CHALLENGING – ARE WE ON THE SLIDE, THE REFLECTION SLIDE?
YEAH.
THERE WE GO.
THAT THE COMMUNITIES OF INTEREST WERE NOT ALL CREATED EQUAL, AND WE HAD TO DEBATE WHERE WE THOUGHT THEY WERE AND WEREN’T.
ONE APPROACH THAT WE TOOK WAS, WHEN YOU REALIZED THAT THERE WERE SO MANY DIFFERENT INTERPRETATIONS OF WHAT THE COMMUNITY OF INTEREST IS OR WHAT THE COMMISSION SHOULD PRIORITIZE, THAT WE INTERNALLY ADOPTED THIS APPROACH AROUND, YOU KNOW, SHARE THE PAIN.
AND WHAT WE REALLY MEANT BY THAT WAS THAT EVERYBODY SHOULD FEEL AT THE END OF THE DAY LIKE THEY GOT SOMETHING BENEFICIAL IN TERMS OF THEIR POLITICAL REPRESENTATION.
BUT LIKELY THEY WOULD ALSO HAVE TO SACRIFICE SOMETHING AS WELL.
AND SO IF IN ONE LAYER OF MAPS, SAY AT THE ASSEMBLY LEVEL, WE WERE ABLE TO KEEP TOGETHER A PARTICULAR COMMUNITY – WELL, PERHAPS AT THE SENATE LEVEL WE MIGHT HAVE TO PRIORITIZE A DIFFERENT TYPE OF COMMUNITY OF INTEREST OR CITY OR COUNTY, SO THAT WAS AN APPROACH.
WE TRIED TO LOOK NOT JUST AT A PARTICULAR MAP, SET OF MAPS, BUT ALSO AT HOW ALL THE MAPS COMPARED TO EACH IN A HOLISTIC SENSE.
THE SECOND REFLECTION I HAVE IS JUST THE VOLUME OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.
I GAVE YOU A FLAVOR OF IT WHEN I FIRST STARTED THE PRESENTATIONS, JUST THE VOLUME OF INPUT THAT WE RECEIVED IN DIFFERENT FORMS.
AND THEN ALSO THE QUALITY OF THAT INPUT.
IT WAS NOT ALL CREATED EQUAL.
THERE HAD TO BE SOME JUDGMENT CALLS AROUND WHAT WAS VALID INFORMATION AND WHAT WASN’T, AND THE CONTENT WE RECEIVED REALLY HAD TO BE VETTED, ALL ON A VERY COMPRESSED TIMELINE.
SO, YOU KNOW, WAS IT A PERFECT MODEL?
CERTAINLY NOT.
I MEAN, JUST THE TIME LIMITATIONS, YOU ALWAYS HAVE REFLECTIONS OF BOY, IF WE HAD HAD ANOTHER FEW HOURS TO DELIBERATE AROUND THIS PARTICULAR THING OR THAT, IT MIGHT HAVE ENDED UP SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT.
BUT IT’S BEEN VERY AFFIRMING THAT THE ANALYSES HAVE SHOWN THAT BOTH FROM A PROCESS AND OUTCOME STANDPOINT, THAT REALLY THIS WAS A SUPERIOR MODEL.
I’M CERTAINLY BIASED, OBVIOUSLY, I’M VERY PERSONALLY INVESTED IN THE PROCESS.
BUT ANOTHER DATA POINT AROUND IT IS THAT WE DID COME IN ON TIME AND UNDER BUDGET, AND REALLY AGAINST ALL ODDS.
BECAUSE THERE, AGAIN, WAS NO SORT OF TEMPLATE ON HOW TO DO IT.
WE HAD TO CREATE IT AS WE WERE GOING.
FINAL SLIDE.
WELL, SECOND TO LAST.
I JUST THOUGHT I WOULD SHOW YOU A VISUAL OF THE ASSEMBLY, SENATE AND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS.
WE HAVE VERY DETAILED REPORTS ABOUT HOW WE ARRIVED AT THIS, AND THEN A FINAL SET OF MAPS FOR THE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION.
NEXT SLIDE.
AND JUST WANTED TO FORESHADOW HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED, EITHER IN REDISTRICTING – WE WERE JUST TALKING YESTERDAY AT OUR COMMISSION MEETING AROUND RECRUITMENT FOR THE NEXT COMMISSION, WHICH IS NOT TOO FAR OUT, LEAVE IT OR NOT.
BUT THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES TO BE ON THE COMMISSION, AND ALSO TO INFORM THE COMMISSION, WHETHER IT’S THROUGH TESTIFYING, PROVIDING MAP TESTIMONY, ET CETERA.
ALL OF THOSE ARE VERY WELCOME AND IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTIONS.
AND THEN AT THE LOCAL LEVEL, TO ENCOURAGE JURISDICTIONS, AS THEY ARE GOING THROUGH THEIR DISTRICTING PROCESS, TO SHIFT TO OPEN REDISTRICTING AND THEN TO ALSO BE ABLE TO GET YOURSELVES AND YOUR COMMUNITIES INVOLVED WITH SHAPING THE NATURE OF THE MAPS THAT RESULT.
SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.
ALWAYS WELCOME, LOVE TO TALK DISTRICTING AND REDISTRICTING, EITHER HERE OR ELSEWHERE.
KATHAY FENG:  THANK YOU SO MUCH, CONNIE.
SO FOR FOLKS WHO HAVE JUST JOINED US, I WANT TO LET YOU KNOW THAW ARE LISTENING TO DISTRICTING WHAT, A PANEL DISCUSSION AROUND REDISTRICTING AND REDISTRICTING REFORMS IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.
AND WE ARE MOVING ON TO OUR NEXT SPEAKER.
BEFORE I SWITCH OVER, I JUST WANT TO LET PEOPLE KNOW THERE WILL BE A Q AND A SESSION AT THE END OF THIS PANEL.
SO IF YOU ARE LOGGED IN TO THE WEBINAR, YOU CAN RAISE YOUR HAND BY – I THINK THAT THERE’S A BUTTON TO RAISE YOUR HAND.
IF YOU HAVE JUST CALLED IN USING THE AUDIO, THE TELEPHONE, WE WILL PAUSE FOR A MOMENT AND LET PEOPLE INDICATE THAT THEY ARE INTERESTED IN ASKING A QUESTION.
SO OUR NEXT SPEAKER REALLY IS SOMEBODY WHO I WOULD SAY IS THE DEAN OF REDISTRICTING WORK IN CALIFORNIA, AND CERTAINLY WHEN I FIRST STARTED WORKING IN THIS AREA, IN VOTING RIGHTS, I HAD VERY LITTLE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT HOW THE CENSUS INTERACTED WITH REDISTRICTING OR HOW REDISTRICTING WAS FOR MINORITY COMMUNITY REPRESENTATION.
AND IT WAS REALLY BECAUSE OF DENiSE HEWLETT’S EXPERIENCE AND HER TUTELAGE THAT MANY VOTING RIGHTS ATTORNEYS AND ORGANIZATIONS ACROSS THE FIELD IN CALIFORNIA HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GET INVOLVED AND TO REPRESENT OUR RESPECTIVE COMMUNITIES.
A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND IN THE AREA.
SO THERE IS A NATIONAL LAW, AS MANY PEOPLE KNOW, THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT, WHICH AFFORDS PROTECTIONS TO MINORITY COMMUNITIES TO ENSURE THAT LAWS ARE NOT PASSED THAT WILL NEGATIVELY IMPACT ON MINORITY COMMUNITIES’ ABILITY TO VOTE.
GENERALLY SPEAKING, IN A LOT OF OTHER CONTEXTS, WHAT THAT CAN MEAN IS FOR CERTAIN VOTING RESTRICTIONS, LIKE PLACING REQUIREMENTS TO PEOPLE TO REGISTER TO VOTE OR CREATING BARRIERS ON THE ABILITY FOR SOMEBODY TO CAST A BALLOT, CAN BE CHALLENGED USING THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT, AND WE CERTAINLY HAVE SEEN THAT USED EFFECTIVELY IN MANY STATES.
THE OTHER ASPECT OF WHAT THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT DOES IS THAT IT PROVIDES SOME PROTECTIONS IN THE ARENA OF REDISTRICTING TO ENSURE THAT THE LINES THAT ARE DRAWN IN DRAWN IN A WAY THAT DOES NOT TAKE AWAY THE ABILITY FOR A MINORITY COMMUNITY TO ELECT A CANDIDATE OF THEIR CHOICE.
IT ALSO ALLOWS FOR THE CHALLENGING OF DISTRICTS WHERE THERE ARE NO LINES – THOSE ARE CALLED “AT LARGE JURISDICTIONS” --
 TO POTENTIALLY CHANGE THOSE DISTRICTS – OR SORRY, TO CHALLENGE THOSE JURISDICTIONS TO SAY THAT THIS IS AN AREA WHERE DISTRICTS SHOULD BE DRAWN, BECAUSE IT WOULD AFFORD A MINORITY COMMUNITY THE ABILITY TO ELECT A CANDIDATE OF THEIR CHOICE.
IN CALIFORNIA, WE HAVE ADDED ANOTHER LAYER OF PROTECTION, AND IT’S CALLED THE “CALIFORNIA VOTING RIGHTS ACT.” AND I WILL LET DENISE TELL US A LITTLE BIT MORE, BOTH ABOUT THE CALIFORNIA VOTING ACT AND HOW IT HAS BEEN USED VERY EFFECTIVELY IN CALIFORNIA, BUT ALSO SOME OF THE NEW CHALLENGES THAT ARE CROPPING UP AND SOME OF THE POLICY CHANGES THAT A LOT OF US ARE STRIVING TO TRY TO PASS.
AND SO DENISE HuLETT, NATIONAL SENIOR COUNSEL OF MALDA, TAKE IT AWAY.
DENISE HULETT:  THANK YOU, KATHAY.
THANK YOU FOR INVITING ME, AND THANK YOU FOR PUTTING THIS WEBINAR ON TODAY.
I WORK FOR – AS KATHAY SAID, I WORK FOR MALDA, IS A NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS ORGANIZATION THAT ADVOCATES ON BEHALF OF LATINOS WHO LIVE IN THIS COUNTRY IN THE AREAS OF VOTING RIGHTS, EDUCATION, IMMIGRATION, AND EMPLOYMENT.
I’M HERE PRIMARILY TO TALK ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY ADVOCACY IN THE CONNECTION WITH THE STATE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT, THE CALIFORNIA CIVIL RIGHTS ACT, AS KATHAY SAID.
BUT FIRST I WANTED TO ADDRESS A COUPLE OF THINGS ABOUT INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMISSIONS AT THE STATE LEVEL FROM THE LOCAL LEVELS, OF THE KIND THAT CONNIE WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT.
LINE DRAWING COMMISSIONS THAT ARE INDEPENDENT AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO STATE LEGISLATURES DRAWING THEIR OWN DISTRICTS, THEY ARE THE INEVITABLE WAVE OF THE FUTURE, AND THEY ARE HERALDED AS A SOLUTION TO DISTRICTING BY SELF INTERESTED POLITICIANS WHO ARE ONLY TRYING TO PROTECT THEIR OWN INCUMBENCY, WHICH IS TO BE EXPECTED.
BUT IN THE PROCESS OF JUMPING ON THAT BANDWAGON, I THINK THERE’S A FEW THINGS THAT WE SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT.
AND ONE IS THAT JUST AS FINALLY, BECAUSE OF THE WORK OF SO MANY PEOPLE OVER THE LAST 50 YEARS CREATING AND ENFORCING FEDERAL VOTING RIGHTS, STATE LEGISLATURES ARE FINALLY BEGINNING TO BE INTEGRATED.
THE LINE DRAWERS ARE FINALLY BEGINNING TO BE INTEGRATED, AND THEY ARE FINALLY BEGINNING TO COUNT PEOPLE OF COLOR AMONG THEIR NUMBER.
INCUMBENCY IN THAT CONTEXT IS NOT ALWAYS A BAD THING.
IT’S NOT ALWAYS A DIRTY WORD, WHEN FINALLY THERE IS SOME CAUCUS VOTING POWER THAT COULD THEORETICALLY BE USED TONE SURE THAT THE VOTING RIGHTS OF MINORITY VOTERS ARE PROTECTED.
SO WHEN WE ARE ADDRESSING THE FLAWS OF LEGISLATURES DRAWING THEIR OWN DISTRICTS, I THINK IT’S IMPORTANT TO SIMULTANEOUSLY ADDRESS THE WHO AND THE HOW – WHO IS GOING TO DRAW THE DISTRICTS, HOW ARE THEY GOING TO DO IT, AND TO ADDRESS THOSE TWO THINGS USING RACIAL JUSTICE PERSPECTIVES.
BECAUSE AS CONNIE SAID, THERE WERE CONCERTED EFFORTS IN 2011, WITH SIGNIFICANT FUNDING SUPPORT, AND THOSE EFFORTS RESULTED IN A DIVERSE AND QUALIFIED COMMISSION IN CALIFORNIA, THAT DID VERY WELL IN PROTECTING MINORITY VOTING RIGHTS.
BUT THERE’S NO GUARANTEE THAT IN THE FUTURE CITIZENS REDISTRICTING COMMITTEE WILL CONTINUE TO ACCURATELY REFLECT THE RACIAL COMPOSITION OF CALIFORNIA AND ITS ELECTORATE, AND THERE’S NO GUARANTEE THAT ITS REPRESENTATIVES, LIKE THIS TIME, WILL UNDERSTAND THE LONG HISTORY OF EXCLUSION AND WHAT THE CURRENT EFFECTS OF THAT EXCLUSION ARE.
THERE’S NO GUARANTEE THAT WE WILL GET COMMISSIONERS WHO UNDERSTAND THAT THERE’S AN INCREASING LEVEL OF IDENTIFICATION OF PEOPLE OF COLOR WITH ONE POLITICAL PARTY.
SO REFORM EFFORTS LIKE COMMISSIONS THAT SEEK TO ENHANCE PARTISAN COMPETITION AS A REFORM MEASURE SHOULDN’T BE USED TO PENALIZE PEOPLE OF COLOR.
COMMISSIONERS HAVE TO BE WILLING TO HAVE A BROADER DISCUSSION ABOUT WHAT ELECTORAL COMPETITION REALLY IS AND WHAT THE LONG AWAITED BENEFITS OF INCUMBENCY OF REPRESENTATIVES OF COLOR SHOULD MEAN IN THE CONTEXT OF REDISTRICTING REFORM, BEYOND SIMPLE PARTISANSHIP OR PARTISAN BALANCE.
SO THE CALIFORNIA COMMISSION, THAT CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT CONTAINED PROVISIONS THAT WERE AIMED AT ENSURING THAT WE WEREN’T JUST SIMPLY TAKING A STEP BACK FROM LEGISLATURES DRAWING THEIR OWN DISTRICTS WITHOUT ENSURE THAT VOICES OF COLOR WERE AT LEAST AS REPRESENTED IN THE COMMISSION AS THEY ARE IN THE LEGISLATURE.
AND THERE WAS A SPECIFIC PROVISION WITHIN THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT THAT WAS AIMED AT ENSURING THAT THE COMMISSION REFLECTED RACIAL AND ETHNIC DIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, AND GEOGRAPHIC AND GENDER DIVERSITY.
AND I THINK KATHAY CAN PROBABLY ADDRESS BETTER THAN I, THAT some TRADITIONS ARE CURRENTLY FACING A WARD CONNELLY CHALLENGE.
BUT I NOTICE THAT JUST THIS MONTH WAS A SIMILAR BILL THAT WAS PASSED IN NEBRASKA.
AND I BELIEVE, IF I’M NOT MISTAKEN, IT WAS VETOED RECENTLY BY THE NEBRASKA GOVERNOR.
BUT WHAT TROUBLED ME ABOUT THAT, IN THAT THE WHO – BOTH THE WHO AND THE HOW.
THE WHO OF THE LINE DRAWERS, MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION, THAT WERE SELECTED BY A PROCESS IN LEGISLATURE, HAD GREAT CARE TOWARD ACHIEVING PARTISAN BALANCE AND THE ELIMINATION OF CONFLICTS OF INTERESTING, BUT NO MENTION OF ANY KIND OF RACE OR ETHNIC DIVERSITY.
AND WHEN IT CAME TO THE HOW, YOU REMEMBER CONNIE WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT PRIORITIZING WHAT REDISTRICTING PRINCIPLES TRUMPS ANOTHER, AND THAT THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT TRUMPED MOST OF THE REDISTRICTING CRITERIA.
IN NEBRASKA COMMISSION, THEY INCLUDED A SET OF REDISTRICTING PRINCIPLES TO BE FOLLOWED IN A PARTICULAR ORDER, BUT FOLLOWING COUNTY LINES TRUMPS ENSURING COMPLIANCE WITH THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT.
IF THAT HAD BEEN TRUE IN CALIFORNIA, THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN – WE WOULD HAVE ENDED UP WITH EXTREMELY DIFFERENT MAPS.
NOW GRANTED, NEBRASKA IS LESS THAN 20% PEOPLE OF COLOR AT THIS POINT, BUT THE LATINO POPULATION IS GROWING FAST, AND THERE ARE ACTUALLY NO LATINOS IN THE STATE LEGISLATURE AT ALL.
SO I’M SAYING THAT KIND OF – WHO AND HOW SHOULD NOT BECOME THE TEMPLATE FOR COMMISSIONS THAT ARE AIMED AT REFORM.
AND THE WHO AND HOW IS ALL THE MORE IMPORTANT, I THINK, IN THE NEXT ROUND OF REDISTRICTING.
BECAUSE THE U.S. SUPREME COURT HAS GUTTED WHAT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT PROTECTION OF THE FEDERAL VOTING RIGHTS ACT, THAT REQUIRED JURISDICTIONS TO PROVE THAT THEIR LINES DID NOT HAVE A NEGATIVE ON MINORITY VOTING RIGHTS BEFORE THEY COULD IMPLEMENT ANY NEW PLANS.
THAT WAS THE BIGGEST PROTECTION THAT WE HAD, AND THAT WAS NOW GONE.
FOR LOCAL JURISDICTIONS, I THINK I AM – WE ARE MUCH MORE EXCITED ABOUT THE PROSPECTS OF COMMISSIONS FOR CITIES, COUNTIES, AND SCHOOL BOARDS.
BECAUSE THE SMALLER SIZE OF THOSE BODIES MAKES HARMFUL DEAL CUTTING MUCH MORE TEMPTING AND EASIER TO DO AND EASIER TO HIDE.
AND SO – AND ALSO THE PROCESS OF SELECTING COMMISSIONS IN SMALL JURISDICTIONS CAN INCREASE CIVIC ENGAGEMENT IN THE PROCESSES THAT LEAD UP TO THE DISTRICT ELECTIONS, AND I’LL TALK ABOUT THAT IN A SECOND, WITH AN EXPERIENCE THAT WE HAD IN MERCED.
AS FAR AS THE CALIFORNIA VOTING RIGHTS ACT, OUR FOCUS CALIFORNIA NOW IS ON AT-LARGE ELECTIONS AND LOCAL JURISDICTIONS.
CITIES, COUNTIES, SCHOOL BOARDS, AND DISTRICT, WHERE THOSE WINNER TAKE ALL, AT-LARGE ELECTIONS SUBMERGE LATINO, AFRICAN, OR ASIAN VOTING STRENGTHS IN THOSE WINNER TAKE ALL ELECTIONS, AND WHERE THE CANDIDATES COHESIVELY SUPPORTED, FOR EXAMPLE, BY LATINO VOTERS CONSISTENTLY LOSE BECAUSE THE MAJORITY OF VOTERS WON’T SUPPORT THEM, BECAUSE VOTING IN CALIFORNIA IS STILL POLARIZED ALONG RACIAL LINES.
IN THOSE CASES WE SEEK REMEDY THAT THE CALIFORNIA VOTING RIGHTS ACT PROVIDES, WHICH IS TO DIVIDE THE JURISDICTION INTO DISTRICTS THAT WILL ENABLE MINORITY POPULATIONS TO ELECT CANDIDATES OF CHOICE.
AND AS FAR AS THE NEED FOR IT, I WANT TO LOOK REALLY QUICKLY – I RECENTLY LOOKED AT CITIES OVER 100,000 IN CALIFORNIA.
THERE IS NEARLY 70 CITIES IN CALIFORNIA THAT ARE OVER 100,000 IN POPULATION.
ABOUT 50 OF THEM ARE ELECTED IN THAT WINNER TAKE ALL, AT-LARGE SYSTEM THAT I DESCRIBED.
AND IN OVER A THIRD OF THOSE AT-LARGE CITIES, THERE ARE ABSOLUTELY NO LATINO REPRESENTATION AT ALL.
AND MOST OF THOSE ARE CITIES THAT HAVE A LATINO POPULATION, THAT YOU WOULD EXPECT, ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL, TO HAVE AT LEAST ONE LATINO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS.
WHEREAS IN THE JURISDICTIONS THAT ELECT BY DISTRICT, THERE IS ONLY ONE THAT DOESN’T HAVE LATINO REPRESENTATION.
ALL BUT ONE HAS AT LEAST ONE LATINO ON THE BOARD.
IF YOU LOOK AT PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION, THOSE JURISDICTIONS THAT ELECT BY DISTRICT, 80% OF THOSE HAVE PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION, REPRESENTATION THAT IS WHAT YOU WOULD EXPECT TO EMERGE IN A SYSTEM WHERE VOTING IS NOT POLARIZED ALONG RACIAL LINES.
IN 80% BY OF THOSE – BY DISTRICT, WHEREAS IN THE AT-LARGE CITIES, ONLY ABOUT A QUARTER OF THOSE HAVE PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION FOR LATINOS.
SO WE HAVE SEEN LITIGATION IN THE LAST 10 YEARS OR SO IN A NUMBER OF CITIES AND SCHOOL BOARDS THAT HAVE SETTLED, SETTLED AFTER THE LITIGATION IS FILED, AND MANY MANY HAVE SETTLED PRELITIGATION, JUST – YOU KNOW, A LETTER IS SENT AFTER INVESTIGATION IS DONE SAYING, YOU KNOW WHAT?
YOU HAVE AN AT-LARGE ELECTION THAT MAY VIOLATE THE CALIFORNIA VOTING RIGHTS ACT.
AND SOMETIMES – MANY TIMES THE JURISDICTION WILL AGREE TO SETTLE TO A LITIGATION EVEN BEING FILED.
SO WHEN THE CONVERSIONS OCCURS, EITHER BECAUSE OF LITIGATION OR PRELITIGATION, IT IS COMMUNITY ADVOCACY THAT ENSURES THAT THE RESULT IS EQUITABLE.
SO ONE EXAMPLE IS BELLFLOWER.
WE HAD A LAWSUIT IN BELLFLOWER.
IT WAS BROUGHT ON BEHALF OF BLACK AND LATINO PLAINTIFFS, THAT WERE VERY VERY ORGANIZED.
THE CITY AGREED IN THE SETTLEMENT TO PUT THE CONVERSION QUESTION ON THE BALLOT.
NOW, COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION IS NECESSARY, GOING TO CONTINUE TO BE NECESSARY IN THAT JURISDICTION, NOT JUST TO ENSURE THAT THE MAPS ARE DRAWN IN A FAIR MANNER, BUT ALSO THAT THE CONVERSION MEASURE ITSELF WILL PASS.
SO FOR ANOTHER EXAMPLE, WE WERE IN MERCED, IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY.
THAT WAS A PRELITIGATION SETTLEMENT.
WE WORKED WITH COMMUNITIES FOR NEW CALIFORNIA, WITH LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS, AND VARIOUS LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS IN THE LATINO COMMUNITY, IN THE HMONG COMMUNITY, FIRST TO ADVOCATE FOR THE SETTLEMENT OF THE LAWSUIT, AND THEN CMC, OUR MIRACLE WORKERS, WHEN THEY CAME IN AND ESTABLISHED PHONE BANKS AND GET-OUT-THE-VOTE CAMPAIGNS TO ENSURE ENGAGING ALL KINDS OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, TO ENSURE THAT THE MEASURE PASSED.
THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS HELPED US FORM A LOCAL LINE DRAWING COMMISSION, THAT DID A GREAT JOB ON RECOMMENDING THAT TO THE CITY COUNCIL.
AND THEN COMMUNITIES OF CALIFORNIA AND MALDA ORGANIZED ADVOCACY WITH THE LOCAL GROUPS BEFORE THAT LOCAL COMMISSION, TO GET THOSE – THEIR DISTRICTING MAP DRAWN, USING THE SAME KIND OF CRITERIA THAT CONNIE WAS TALKING ABOUT IN TERMS OF COMMUNITIES OF INTEREST.
AND THEN FINALLY, TO DO REGISTRATION DRIVES IN ANTICIPATION OF THE FIRST DISTRICT ELECTION.
SO COMMUNITY INPUT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
ITS NOT ENOUGH THAT THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT ENABLES US TO CONVERT FROM AT-LARGE TO DISTRICT ELECTIONS.
BUT WITHOUT THE COMMUNITY INPUTtING, MOVING QUICKLY TOWARDS THOSE DISTRICT ELECTIONS, WITHOUT SUFFICIENT PROCESS TO BE ABLE TO ALLOW THE COMMUNITY TO HAVE INPUT THROUGH HEARINGS AND OTHER METHODS, REALLY DOESN’T GET US THE RESULTS THAT WE HOPED FOR.
SO FINALLY, THE LAST THING I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT IS THERE IS SOME LEGISLATION UP RIGHT NOW TO FACILITATE CONVERSION FROM AT-LARGE TO DISTRICT ELECTIONS WHERE – IN CITIES AND SPECIAL DISTRICTS WHERE THE CITIES, THE LOCAL JURISDICTIONS REALIZE THAT THEY MAY BE VIOLATING THE CALIFORNIA VOTING RIGHTS ACT AND WISH TO CONVERT.
AND UNTIL LAST YEAR, THE ONLY WAY A GENERAL LAW CITY COULD DO THAT IS TO PUT THE QUESTION BEFORE THE VOTERS, TO PUT THE QUESTION ON THE BALLOT BEFORE YOU COULD EVEN IMPLEMENT A DISTRICT ELECTION SYSTEM.
LAST YEAR, SB-493 GAVE CITY COUNCIL THE OPTION OF BEING ABLE TO DO THAT CONVERSION BY ORDINANCE AND NOT HAVE TO HOLD A SEPARATE ELECTION TO DECIDE THAT QUESTION.
AND THAT’S FACILITATED COMPLIANCE WITH THE CDRA, AND IT SAVED THE MONEY OF AN EXTRA ELECTION.
THE ONLY PROBLEM WITH THAT IS IT A CAP OF 100,000 POPULATION ON IT.
SO IT ONLY APPLIED TO SMALL CITIES UNDER A HUNDRED THOUSAND.
THIS YEAR AB-2220 IS GOING TO REMOVE THAT CAP.
SO ALL GENERAL LAW CITIES CAN CONVERT BY ORDINANCE WHETHER THEY THINK THAT THE CBRA REQUIRES THEM TO DO THAT.
AND AB-2389 ALSO EXTENDS THAT FLEXIBILITY TO EXPECTED DISTRICTS.
AB-350 IS GOING TO INSTITUTE SOME PROCEDURES THAT WE WORKED ON AS A COALITION TO ENSURE MAXIMUM INPUT OPPORTUNITIES AND PARTICIPATION.
AND I THINK ONE MORE I WANTED TO MENTION WAS 958, WHICH IS SEEKING TO ESTABLISH A COUNTY COMMISSION TO DRAW THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS DISTRICTS IN LOS ANGELES.
SO THAT ONE SHOULD BE INTERESTING.
WHATEVER THE PROCESS THAT HAPPENS, WHETHER IT’S LOCAL COMMISSIONS, STATEWIDE COMMISSIONS, LEGISLATIVE DRAWING, OR, YOU KNOW, DRAWING BY CITY COUNCILS, THE FOCUS HAS TO BE, I DO BELIEVE, ON STRATEGY THAT WILL ENSURE THAT COMMUNITIES OF COLOR BENEFIT FROM REDISTRICTING, AND THAT PEOPLE OF COLOR HELP LEAD THE REFORM EFFORTS.
SO THE WHO AND THE HOW OF REDISTRICTING WILL LEAD TO EQUITABLE RESULTS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
kathay feng:  THANK YOU, DENISE.
AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE STARTED TO MOVE INTO IS TO THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHOEVER IS CARRYING OUT THE REDISTRICTING, WHETHER THAT IS AN ELECTED BODY OR A COMMISSION OR IN SOME CASES THERE MAY BE JURISDICTIONS WHERE THEY ARE USING AN ALTERNATIVE FORM OF VOTING, THAT THERE’S ONE MORE LAYER OF GOVERNMENT THAT NEEDS TO BE SURE THAT THE INTENTIONS OF THE VOTERS OR THE MAP LINE DRAWERS CARRIED OUT.
IN CALIFORNIA MUCH OF THIS WORK IS CARRIED OUT BY OUR MUCH – OR MAYBE LITTLE HERALDED – HA HA – REGISTRAR OF VOTERS AT THE COUNTY LEVEL.
AND THEY ARE IN MANY WAYS THE PEOPLE WHO ARE MAKING SURE THAT THE LINES THAT ARE VOTED ON BY A COMMISSION OR A LOCAL JURISDICTION LOOK AND ARE CARRIED OUT THE RIGHT WAY, SO THAT WHEN WE RUN ELECTIONS THAT WE DON’T HAVE STRANGE HICCUPS.
AND BEFORE WE HAD OUR LAST PANEL, I HAD NO IDEA HOW MANY HICCUPS WERE POSSIBLE UNTIL OUR REGISTRAR OF VOTERS FROM SAN DIEGO COUNTY, MICHAEL VU, GAVE US A PRIMER ON JUST HOW COMPLICATED THAT CAN BE.
AND SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, I’D LIKE TO INTRODUCE THE PERSON WHO FOR ABOUT 20 YEARS HAS BEEN IN CHARGE OF RUNNING ELECTIONS IN VARIOUS JURISDICTIONS AND NOW IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ELECTION ADMINISTRATION IN THE THIRD LARGEST ELECTION JURISDICTION IN CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO COUNTY, MICHAEL VU.
MICHAEL VU:  THANK YOU SO MUCH, KATHAY.
AND THANK YOU TO THE FUTURE OF CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS FOR PUTTING THIS ALL TOGETHER AND CREATING THIS FORUM FOR EVERYONE TO LISTEN IN ON SUCH AN IMPORTANT TOPIC.
SO LET ME, IF I MAY, JUST TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME IN TERMS OF MY BACKGROUND AS IT RELATES TO REDISTRICTING.
WHEN I FIRST STARTED MY CAREER IN ELECTION ADMINISTRATION, WHICH WAS FRANKLY HAPPENSTANCE, HOW I FELL INTO IT – BUT ONE OF MY FIRST ROLES WAS TO BRING IN GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR THE COUNTY OF SALT LAKE – SALT LAKE COUNTY, AND THE ELECTIONS OFFICE THERE HAD NOT – DID NOT HAVE A GIS PROGRAM LIKE IT DOES TODAY.
AND SO WE INCORPORATED GIS IN THERE, AND I WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT, FOR THAT NEW PROGRAM INSIDE THE COUNTY.
AND SO I HAD TO LEARN ALL ABOUT GIS AND WHAT ALL THESE DIFFERENT LINES MEANT AND ALL THE DIFFERENT TERMINOLOGIES AS IT RELATES TO GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS.
AND PART OF THAT TASK IN 2000, PRIOR TO 2000, WAS GOING THROUGH THIS REDISTRICTING – AT THE TIME IT WAS A COMMISSION FORM OF GOVERNMENT, AND THEY WERE GOING TO A COUNCIL FORM OF GOVERNMENT IN THE COUNTY.
AND SO OUR ELECTIONS OFFICE WAS TASKED TO REDISTRICT THE COUNTY INTO SIX COUNCIL DISTRICTS AND THEN THREE ADDITIONAL COUNCIL DISTRICTS WERE GOING TO BE AT LARGE.
NEVER DID I KNOW THE COMPLEXITY AROUND REDISTRICTING UNTIL I HAD GONE THROUGH THE ACTUAL MOTIONS OF DOING SUCH.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I ALWAYS EXPLAINED IS IF YOU THINK ABOUT AN ANATOMY BOOK, AND YOU SEE ALL THE DIFFERENT LAYERS OF AN ANATOMY BOOK, WHERE YOU HAVE THE BONES AS KIND OF THE BASE LAYER, AND THEN YOU OVERLAP, YOU KNOW, THESE OTHER TRANSPARENT LAYERS OF THE VEINS AND THE MUSCLES, AND THEN YOU GET TO THE SKIN AND THE ORGANS AND SO FORTH, THINK OF IT ALONG THOSE LINES.
EXCEPT FOR WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, THINK OF IT AS THE VEINS ARE REALLY NOT ALIGNED TO THE BONES PROPERLY.
AND SO SOMETIMES THOSE VEINS ARE STICKING OUTSIDE THE SKIN.
YOU CAN TAKE THAT SAME ANALOGY AND BRING IT TO THE WORLD OF ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING.
BECAUSE – WE HAVE IN THE COUNTY DOES NOT NECESSARILY ALIGN WITH THE CENSUS BOUNDARIES THAT WE RECEIVE FROM ANY – FROM, WELL, THE U.S. CENSUS BUREAU.
BUT WHEN WE RESTART, WE RECEIVE LINES FROM LOCAL JURISDICTIONS OR FROM THE STATE, THOSE LINES.
SO THERE’S A LOT OF HIGH LEVEL OF INTERPRETATION THAT NEEDS TO OCCUR AS TO WHERE THOSE LINES ACTUALLY BELONG, WHAT WE CALL OUR PROJECTION OF THE JURISDICTION.
SO ANOTHER EXPERIENCE THAT I HAD WAS, AGAIN, WHEN REDISTRICTING HAD ALREADY OCCURRED, THIS WAS THE STATE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN THE STATE OF UTAH.
AND AT THE TIME THE LINE WAS DRAWN BETWEEN TWO DIFFERENT HOUSES OF REPRESENTATIVES LINES.
AND IT WAS DOWN A DIRT ROAD.
WELL, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU PROJECT OUT FIVE, SIX YEARS LATER, SEVEN YEARS LATER, NEVER DID YOU THINK THAT SOMEONE WOULD ACTUALLY BUILD ON THAT ROAD.
BUT THIS CASE IT DID, AND THEY ACTUALLY BUILT A HOUSE ON TOP OF THE LINE, AND IT SPLIT THE HOUSE BETWEEN TWO DIFFERENT STATE REPRESENTATIVES’ BOUNDARIES.
AND SO THERE WAS A BIG DISCUSSION AS TO WHAT DID THIS PERSON – WHERE DID THIS PERSON LIVE?
DID THEY LIVE IN THE 51ST REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT, OR DID THEY LIVE IN THE 50TH REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT?
AND IT SO HAPPENED IN THIS HOUSE THERE WAS A CANDIDATE LIVING INSIDE OF IT.
AND SO I JUST REMEMBER HAVING A NUMBER OF US TOGETHER – ATTORNEYS, THE STATE, EVERYBODY INVOLVED AS TO WHERE DID THIS BOUNDARY BELONG AND WHERE SHOULD THIS PERSON ACTUALLY LIVE, THIS CANDIDATE.
SHOULD – SOME OF THE DISCUSSIONS RELATED TO, YOU KNOW, IS IT A FRONT DOOR IN WHICH THE PERSON LIVES AS TO WHAT BOUNDARY AND WHAT REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT THEY BELONGED IN?
OR SHOULD IT BE THE BEDROOM?
OR IN CERTAIN CASES, SHOULD IT BE THE BATHROOM?
WE ALL THOUGHT IT WAS PRETTY FUNNY WHEN THE BATHROOM CONVERSATION OCCURRED.
BUT ULTIMATELY – AND THERE IS ANOTHER ASPECT OF THAT, WHICH IS THE PERCENTAGE OF THE HOUSE WHICH THE DECIDED WHO RESIDED ON – WHICH PERCENTAGE OF THE HOUSE LIVED ON THE 51ST OR WHICH PERCENTAGE OF THE HOUSE LIVED ON THE 50TH.
ULTIMATELY IT GOT RESOLVED, AND I CAN’T REALLY REMEMBER WHAT WAS ULTIMATELY THE DECISION THAT WAS MADE.
BUT THESE ARE KIND OF THE NUANCES THAT WE DON’T REALLY REALIZE UNTIL WE START LOOKING AT THE LINES.
AND OF COURSE TIME OCCURS AND HOUSES GET BUILT, THE COMPLEXITY OF REDISTRICTING AND WHAT ELECTION OFFICIALS HAVE TO DO IN TERMS OF APPLYING THE LINES THAT ARE RECEIVED FROM LOCAL JURISDICTIONS OR FROM THE STATE.
SO WHAT DO WE DO?
AND IF I CAN HAVE THE NEXT SLIDE, SOME OF THE LINES THAT YOU SEE HERE, IF YOU LOOK AT YOUR SCREEN, THE RED LINE REPRESENTS THE CENSUS BOUNDARY LINES, AND THE YELLOW LINE REPRESENTS THE ACTUAL BOUNDARY LINES BETWEEN THE CITY OF CARLSBAD AND THE CITY OF ENCINITAS.
AS YOU CAN SEE, THE CENSUS BUREAU LINES DON’T FOLLOW THE ACTUAL BOUNDARY LINES BETWEEN CARLSBAD AND ENCINITAS.
AND SO WE HAVE TO MAKE THE LEVELS OF INTERPRETATION AS TO OKAY, WHERE DOES, IF YOU LOOK AT IT, THAT RED LINE NEXT TO THE YELLOW LINE UP AT THE NORTHERN PART THERE, WHERE DO THOSE LINES BELONG?
AND SHOULD THOSE VOTERS LIVE ON THE CARLSBAD SIDE OR THE ENCINITAS SIDE, OR ARE THEY SPLIT BETWEEN THE TWO?
AND SO WHAT WE ENDED UP HAVING TO DO IS WORK CLOSELY WITH THE JURISDICTIONS TO MAKE THAT LEVEL OF INTERPRETATION AS TO WHAT BOUNDARY, WHERE DO THOSE VOTERS LIVE, SO WE CAN ENSURE THAT THEY GET THE PROPER BALLOT COME ELECTION DAY, OR IF THEY ARE MAIL BALLOT VOTERS, THAT WE ARE MAILING THEM THE PROPER BALLOT.
SO YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE IS – IT’S NOT CUT AND DRY.
AS YOU CAN SEE, THEY – THE BLOCK, IF YOU CAN READ THE SCREEN THERE, IS BLOCK 1003  THERE.
YOU COULD SENSE AND LOOK AT IT, AND YOU COULD INTERPRET THAT THAT LINE PROBABLY FOLLOWS THE YELLOW BOUNDARY LINES, BUT DOESN’T LINE UP.
AND SO WE CAN’T MAKE THOSE LEVELS OF ASSUMPTION.
WE ARE CONSTANTLY, OUR FOLKS, OUR GIS FOLKS HERE IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY, ARE CONSTANTLY WORKING WITH THE LOCAL JURISDICTION THAT PROVIDED THESE LINES, SO THAT WAY WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT VOTERS IN THE PLACED IN THE PROPER DISTRICTS.
AND THESE ARE IMPORTANT, AND THE REASON WHY IT’S IMPORTANT IS BECAUSE THIS IS OCCURRING ACROSS NOT JUST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT BOUNDARY LINES OR STATE SENATE AND STATE ASSEMBLY LINES, BUT THIS IS HAPPENING ACROSS MANY POLITICAL JURISDICTIONS, LOCAL JUST DICTIONS.
IN FACT, IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY, WE HAVE OVER 332 POLITICAL DISTRICTS THAT WE ARE MAINTAINING TO ENSURE THAT VOTERS ARE GETTING THE PROPER BALLOT AS WELL AS THE CONTEST THAT THEY ARE GOING TO BE VOTING ON.
LET’S GO AHEAD AND GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
HERE’S ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF WHERE WHEN THE LINES WERE GIVEN TO US, WE HAD TO REACH OUT TO FIGURE OUT WHAT REALLY IS HAPPENING IN THIS SPECIFIC AREA.
IN THIS CASE, IF YOU LOOK AT IT, THE PURPLE AREA THAT KIND OF JUTS OUT COULD BE A DetERMinING FACTOR WHETHER OR NOT IT WAS IN SUPERVISORIAL DISTRICT DISTRICT three, OR DISTRICT ONE.
AND WHEN WE HAD THAT DISCUSSION, WE FOUND OUT THAT THE PURPLE AREA REALLY SHOULD BE GREEN, SHADED IN GREEN.
AND SO THAT GIVES YOU ANOTHER AREA OF, OKAY, WHAT IS THE INTENT, WHAT IS THE INTERPRETATION THAT WE NEED TO MAKE TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE INTERPRETING THESE LINES CORRECTLY.
LET’S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
OKAY.
SO HERE IS JUST ANOTHER, WHERE THE TAN-COLORED BOUNDARIES IN THE PURPLE AREA, THE PURPLE AREA COMES TOGETHER.
AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE – ESSENTIALLY THE CENTER OF THIS DRAWING HERE, YOU WILL SEE THAT THERE’S A COUPLE OF LINES THAT ARE POINTING LEFT AS YOU ARE LOOKING AT IT.
ANOTHER AREA WHERE WE HAD TO DETERMINE WHETHER IN FACT THIS LINE WAS CORRECT OR NOT CORRECT, AND THEY ARE REINTERPRETING THE CENSUS BUREAU LINES CORRECTLY.
AND ULTIMATELY, AFTER THE CONVERSATIONS, WE FOUND OUT THAT THE LINE, THE PURPLE LINES SHOULD ACTUALLY BE EXTENDED TOWARDS THE RED LINE EAST, TOWARDS FURTHER EAST OF THE TAN LINE.
SO THAT WAY WE ARE INTERPRETING THE LINES CORRECTLY.
IF YOU LOOK, THERE’S A SMALL LITTLE PARCEL ON THE RIGHT-HAND CORNER OF WHERE THE TAN AND THE PURPLE MEET.
IF IT WASN’T CORRECT, IF WE WEREN’T GOING TO MOVE THAT – THE PURPLE LINE LEFT, THAT WOULD MEAN THAT THAT LITTLE PARCEL WOULD BE ITS OWN LITTLE VOTING PRECINCT.
AND THESE ARE THE COMPLEXITY, AGAIN, WAS THAT REALLY THE INTENT, TO LEAVE OUT THAT LITTLE HOUSE, THAT PARCEL, BY ITSELF AND CREATE ITS OWN LITTLE VOTING PRECINCT THERE?
LET’S GO AHEAD AND GO TO ONE MORE EXAMPLE THAT I PROVIDED HERE, AND THAT’S ESSENTIALLY THE SAME DRAWING, SAME MAP, EXCEPT FOR IT LISTS ALL THE DIFFERENT BOUNDARY LINES THAT INTERSECT THIS AREA.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE, IF WE DIDN’T MOVE THAT LINE LEFT, THEY COULD POTENTIALLY BE IN ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 80.
THERE’S THE SENATE DISTRICT 40 THERE, THERE’S THE – LET’S SEE, THE FIRST SUPERVISORIAL DISTRICT, AS WELL AS ALL THESE DIFFERENT BOUNDARIES, FROM EVEN SCHOOLS.
AGAIN, IS IMPORTANT.
BECAUSE WE ARE TRYING TO DETERMINE WHAT CONTESTS ARE ON THE BALLOT.
IF WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THIS JUNE 7TH PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, THERE IS 204  DIFFERENT BALLOT TYPES THAT WE WILL GO INTO THIS LECTION.
AND SO IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT TO MAKING SURE THAT THESE BOUNDARY LINES ARE CORRECT.
BECAUSE ULTIMATELY THESE ARE THE BALLOTS THAT VOTERS WILL SEE, AND THE CONTEST THAT THEY WILL SEE TO VOTE ON.
SO WHEN YOU OVERLAP ALL THESE DIFFERENT POLITICAL BOUNDARIES, AND YOU HAVE ALL THESE DISTRICT LINES COMING TO ELECTIONS OFFICE, AND YOU OVERLAP ALL OF THEM, THE IMPACT IS SUCH THAT – IS SUCH THAT THIS IS WHAT EXPLAINS WHY YOUR NEIGHBOR MAY BE VOTING ON A DIFFERENT SET OF BALLOTS OR GOING TO A DIFFERENT POLLING LOCATION.
BECAUSE THEY ARE VOTING ON A DIFFERENT SET OF CONTESTS.
AND WE GET THAT QUESTION ALL THE TIME AS TO, WHY IS MY NEIGHBOR, OR WHY IS THE PERSON RIGHT NEXT TO ME GOING TO A DIFFERENT POLLING LOCATION?
WELL, IT’S BECAUSE WHEN WE OVERLAY ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT POLITICAL LINES, AS WELL AS OTHER STATE LAWS THAT ARE – LIMITS THE TOTAL NUMBER OF VOTERS IN A VOTING PRECINCT, IT CREATES ALL OF THESE SMALL DIFFERENT POCKETS.
AND IN FACT IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY, WE HAVE 6,685 WHAT ARE KNOWN AS “HOME PRECINCTS,” WHEN YOU OVERLAY ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS AND ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT POLITICAL BOUNDARIES ON TOP OF ONE ANOTHER.
IT CREATES ALL OF THESE SMALL POCKETS, WHICH WE CALL “HOME PRECINCTS,” TO THE TUNE OF 6,685.
NOW, WHEN WE CONDUCT AN ELECTION, WE KNOW WHAT CONTESTS ARE ON THE BALLOT, AND SO WE CONSOLIDATE THEM BASED ON THE BALLOT TYPE THAT THEY ARE GOING TO VOTE FOR.
SO FOR EXAMPLE IN THIS UPCOMING ELECTION, WE WILL HAVE 1522 VOTING PRECINCTS FROM THOSE 6,685 HOME PRECINCTS.
BUT IF WE DIDN’T DO THAT, WE WOULD OF COURSE BE – HAVE – WE JUST LEFT ALL OF THE HOME PRECINCTS BY THEMSELVES, THAT WOULD MEAN THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO RECRUIT FOUR POLL WORKERS FOR EACH AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE PRECINCTS, WHICH IF YOU MULTIPLY 6,685 TIMES GENERALLY FOUR POLL WORKERS TO A PRECINCT, YOU CAN SEE HOW THIS BALLOONS VERY QUICKLY.
AND SO THOSE ARE JUST – I’LL LEAVE THE REST OF THE TIME FOR QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS, BUT THOSE ARE JUST SOME OF THE COMPLEXITIES THAT WE HAVE IN TERMS OF RECEIVING THESE LINES, THE CENSUS BOUNDARY LINES, FROM LOCAL JURISDICTIONS, FROM THE STATE, AND THEN HAVING TO INCORPORATE THEM INTO OUR VOTER REGISTRATION SYSTEM.
KATHAY, BACK TO YOU.
KATHAY FENG:  THANK YOU SO MUCH, MICHAEL.
SO WE’VE GOT A FAIRLY ACTIVE CHAT OF QUESTIONS THAT ARE BEING ASKED.
AND WHILE I MAYBE SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE IF THEY ARE INTERESTED IN ASKING QUESTIONS, PEOPLE CAN RAISE THEIR HANDS, AND – IF YOU HAVE GOT A QUESTION, AND WE WILL CALL ON YOU.
AND WHAT I WILL JUST SAY IS THAT IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE ON AUDIO ONLY AND NOT ON THE WEBINAR, THEN I’LL PAUSE FOR A MOMENT AND ASK IF THERE IS ANYBODY WHO WOULD LIKE TO BE IN THE QUEUE TO ASK A QUESTION.
OKAY.
SO THE FIRST QUESTION –
     >>   THE CONFERENCE HAS BEEN UNMUTED.
KATHAY FENG:  IN TERMS OF THE CHAT, LET ME START WITH CONSUELA MARTINEZ.
HI, CONSUELA, ARE YOU THERE?
CONSUELA, YOU HAVE BEEN UNMUTED.
BUT I WILL ASK YOUR QUESTION.
SHE IS ASKING – WELL, SHE IS ASKING A COUPLE DIFFERENT QUESTIONS.
SO ONE OF THEM WAS, SHE’D LOVE TO KNOW – SHE IS NOTICING A TREND IN CITIES WITH THE GROWING IMMIGRANT POPULATION, WHERE THEY ARE GOING THROUGH CITY AND SCHOOL BOARD DISTRICTING.
SHE HAS NOTICED THAT THE OUTREACH WAS A HUGE CHALLENGE, AS THE COMMISSIONERS ARE NOT EXPERTS IN OUTREACH.
AND THE CITIES WOULD NOT DO IT, SINCE THEY ONLY DO THE BARE MINIMUM REQUIRED OF THEM.
HOW CAN WE CREATE TOOL KITS AND BEST PRACTICES THAT CITIES CAN TAP INTO, OR MAYBE ALSO COMMUNITY ACTIVISTS CAN TAP INTO, AND THE OUTREACH EFFORTS?
I DON’T KNOW IF ANY OF OUR FOLKS ON THE LINE WOULD LIKE TO ANSWER THAT.
I DO KNOW THAT SOME OF OUR ORGANIZATIONS HAVE STARTED TO LOOK AT THAT QUESTION, PARTICULARLY WITH SOME OF THE MOVEMENTS OF A LOT OF CITIES USING THE CBRA TO A DISTRICTING MODEL.
THERE’S BEEN NOW AN UP SURGE IN PEOPLE ASKING, SO HOW DO WE DO THIS RIGHT?
TO OUR PANELISTS, ANYBODY WANT TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION?
DENISE HULETT:  THIS IS DENISE.
I COULD MENTION REALLY BRIEFLY THAT AB-350, I THINK YOU PUT THE LINK UP THERE ON THE WEBINAR, THAT WAS AN ATTEMPT – IT’S GOING TO BE AMENDED TO INCLUDE EXTENSIVE PROVISIONS THAT REQUIRE A CERTAIN NUMBER OF HEARINGS PRIOR TO EVEN DRAFTING THAT, AND THEN ADDITIONAL HEARINGS AFTER.
IT REQUIRES OUTREACH PROCEDURES AND LANGUAGE ACCOMMODATION PROCEDURES AND ALL KINDS OF PROCEDURES THAT WOULD – ARE AIMED AT PROVIDING MORE ACCESS TO THE PROCESS BY THE COMMUNITY.
WHETHER IT WILL GET THROUGH APPROPRIATIONS, I DON’T KNOW.
THAT SEEMS TO BE – WE HAVE TRIED TO PUSH THAT THROUGH BEFORE, AND IT GETS STOPPED AT APPROPRIATIONS, BECAUSE IT’S AN EXPENSE ON THE PART OF THE CITIES AND THE SCHOOL BOARD.
SO THERE ARE A LOT OF BEST PRACTICES, BUT THEY DO BALK AT THEM BECAUSE OF THE EXPENSE.
KATHAY FENG:  MAYBE THAT’S LANGUAGE, SINCE WE DON’T SEE IT YET IN THE BILL LANGUAGE – ALTHOUGH I DID SEND AROUND A LINK, DENISE, IS THERE SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN SHARE VIA THIS – I DON’T KNOW IF WE CAN LINK SOMETHING, BUT SOME OF THE PROPOSED LANGUAGE, SO THAT PEOPLE CAN SEE IT – IT COULD BE A USEFUL GUIDE EVEN AT THE LOCAL LEVEL.
AND SO AS PEOPLE ARE ADOPTING OR MOVING TO A NEW SYSTEM, MAYBE THIS IS ALSO SOMETHING WHERE CITIES OR JURISDICTIONS CAN ADOPT STANDARDS.
>>  CAN I POST ON TO THIS?
>>  IF YOU HAVE AN ONLINE LINK, YOU CAN.
OTHERWISE MAY WE CAN WORK THROUGH FOCE TO SHARE THAT WITH EVERYBODY.
>>  YEAH, LET’S DO IT AFTER.
OKAY.
KATHAY FENG:  AND SO CONSUELA MARTINEZ, ARE YOU UNMUTED NOW?
ALSO ASK – GET THE BILL NUMBERS, AGAIN, AND ADDITIONAL INFO SHEETS IF AVAILABLE.
IN THE CHAT, I HAVE GIVEN THE BILL DESCRIPTIOn -- SOME OF THEM HAVE BECOME LAW, LIKE SB-493 --  AND ALSO THE LINK TO THAT LANGUAGE.
AND I THINK OFF LINE, WE CAN WORK WITH OUR FOCE FRIENDS TO SEND THAT OUT TO ALL OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE PARTICIPATING TODAY.
OKAY.
I DON’T SEE ANY HANDS RAISED, SO I’M GOING TO PHILIPPE’ RODRIGUEZ FLORES, WHO I THINK IS JOINING US FROM WASHINGTON STATE.
IS THAT RIGHT?
PHILIPPE’, ARE YOU UNMUTED?
PHILIPPE’ rodriguez:  OH HI, YES.
I MADE A COMMENT – IT WASN’T EXACTLY A QUESTION.
IT WAS – I WAS JUST SAYING THAT I REALLY APPRECIATED THE COMMENT FROM DENISE ABOUT THE NEED TO HAVE A RACIAL JUSTICE APPROACH IN REDISTRICTING.
BECAUSE CALIFORNIA IS PRETTY UNIQUE.
it’s the MOST POPULOUS STATE AND IT’S ONE OF ONLY FOUR OR FIVE MAJORITY PEOPLE OF COLOR STATES.
BUT AS DENISE WAS SAYING, YOU KNOW, THERE IS ALSO LARGE LATINO POPULATIONS IN NEBRASKA AND INCREASINGLY IN MANY OTHER STATES.
AND YOU CAN’T HAVE A GUARANTEE THAT RACIAL JUSTICE WILL BE PART OF THE ANALYSIS IN OTHER STATES.
SO I REALLY APPRECIATED THAT, THAT POINT.
AND ACTUALLY, I DO HAVE A QUESTION, I GUESS.
WHERE A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO PASS A WASHINGTON VOTING RIGHTS ACT, THERE’S AN EFFORT GOING ON FOR THE PAST FOUR YEARS.
BUT UNFORTUNATELY, IT HASN’T BEEN POLITICALLY FEASIBLE, BECAUSE THE SENATE HAS BLOCKED IT EVERY YEAR.
BUT I WAS WONDERING, WHAT IS KIND OF THE, THE COST FOR A JURISDICTION TO DO THE ANALYSIS TO CHANGE THEIR SYSTEM AT THE LOCAL LEVEL?
>>  YOU MEAN THE COST TO DETERMINE WHETHER WE NEED TO SWITCH – THEY DON’T NECESSARILY DO THE ANALYSIS.
ITS USUALLY PEOPLE LIKE MALBA AND THE ACLU AND ASIAN AMERICANS ADVANCING JUSTICE AND ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THAT THAT DO THE ANALYSIS TO DETERMINE THAT THERE’S A PROBLEM WITH THE AT-LARGE ELECTION, AND THEN INFORM THE COUNTY THAT THERE’S A PROBLEM.
A FEW OF THEM HIRE DEMOGRAPHERS TO THEN LOOK AND SEE WHETHER A DISTRICT CAN BE DRAWN.
AND THAT COST RATE, YOU KNOW, VARIES WILDLY.
THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, SOME DEMOGRAPHERS PUTTING THEIR KIDS THROUGH COLLEGE ON THIS LATELY.
BUT IT VARIES WILDLY FROM ONE TO ANOTHER.
IT DOES COST MONEY, IT DOESN’T COST ANYWHERE NEAR WHAT A VOTING RIGHTS LAWSUIT COSTS.
KATHAY FENG:  OKAY.
LOTTIE FOX, YOU’VE GOT A QUESTION.
LOTTIE, ARE YOU UNMUTED?
LOTTIE FOX:  I THINK I’M UNMUTED.
CAN YOU HEAR ME?
KATHAY FENG:  I CAN HEAR YOU.
GO AHEAD, LOTTIE.
LOTTIE FOX:  I ALSO SERVED FOR AN ELECTION OBSERVER PANEL.
AND I HAVE NEVER BEEN OFFERED AN OPPORTUNITY TO SEE MY COUNTY’S REDISTRICTING MAP.
AND THAT SEEMS THAT WOULD BE A QUESTION THAT PANELISTS WOULD WANT TO HAVE ANSWERED FOR THEM.
IS THIS SOMETHING THAT IS SHARED OFTEN?
ARE OTHER COUNTIES SHARING THIS?
I JUST WONDER SO THAT I WILL BE SERVING ON THE NEXT ELECTION OBSERVER PANEL FROM JUNE 7TH ELECTION, AND I WOULD LIKE TO ASK THIS OF MY COUNTY REGISTRAR.
KATHAY FENG:  WHAT COUNTY ARE YOU FROM, LOTTIE?
LOTTIE FOX:  RIVERSIDE.
>>  SO I KNOW THAT MANY COUNTIES PUT THEIR DISTRICT MAPS UP ONLINE.
I GUESS IT WOULD DEPEND ON WHAT LEVEL OF JURISDICTION YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT.
WHY DON’T WE START WITH SAN DIEGO AND HOW ONE MIGHT FIND THOSE MAPS IF YOU WERE IN SAN DIEGO.
AND I BET YOU THAT THERE WOULD BE A PARALLEL IN YOUR COUNTY.
LOTTIE FOX:  VERY GOOD.
THANKS.
>>  SO IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY, AND IT REALLY IS DIFFERENT FROM COUNTY TO COUNTY – SOME ELECTIONS OFFICES ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE REDISTRICTING EFFORTS, AND ALL OF THE MAPS THAT ARE GOING TO BE DISPLAYED ON THE WEB AND ALL THE PUBLIC MEETINGS AND PUBLIC HEARINGS ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY, THAT WAS NOT THE CASE.
OUR OFFICE WAS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OVERALL RESTRICTING AND ALL THE GIS WORK ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
WE ULTIMATELY RECEIVED THE LINES FROM THE GROUP THAT WAS FORMED SPECIFICALLY FOR REDISTRICTING.
AND ONCE THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS APPROVED THOSE LINES, THEN AT THAT POINT IN TIME WE RECEIVED THOSE LINES AND INCORPORATED IT INTO OUR VOTER REGISTRATION SYSTEM.
THERE WAS A WEBSITE THAT WAS – WHAT I DO KNOW IS THAT THE COUNTY – HAVE A FULL WEBSITE DEDICATED TO REDISTRICTING.
ALL THE MAPS WERE ON THERE.
THERE WAS ALSO A SOFTWARE TOOL THAT WAS CONTRACTED OUT, SO THAT WAY THE PUBLIC COULD SUBMIT LINES.
THE PUBLIC HERE KNOW THAT MY TEAM, SPECIFICALLY FOR OUR SPANISH, FILIPINO, VIETNAMESE AND CHINESE, BECAUSE THOSE ARE OUR FEDERALLY COVERED LANGUAGES, THEY TAPPED MY TEAM HERE, WHERE WE HAVE PERMANENT FULL TIME MEMBERS SPECIFICALLY FOR THOSE PROGRAMS.
THEY TAPPED THOSE INDIVIDUALS TO COME AND PROVIDE INTERPRETIVE SERVICES AT THESE HEARINGS THAT THEY HAVE, NOT ONLY AT THE COUNTY OFFICES, BUT ALSO THERE WAS, IF YOU WILL, FOR A LACK OF A BETTER TERM, A ROAD SHOW, WHERE THEY WENT FROM SPECIFIC PARTS OF THE COUNTY TO TALK ABOUT THE VARIOUS LINES.
THERE WAS AN ADVISORY GROUP THAT WAS FORMED, BY THE WAY.
IT WAS NOT THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, BUT THERE WAS A COMMITTEE FORMED TO TAKE INPUT REGARDING THOSE LINES, THAT THIS WAS OCCURRING.
AND ULTIMATELY THE LINES WERE – VARIOUS PROPOSALS WERE PUT TOGETHER AND THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ULTIMATELY VOTED ON A SPECIFIC ONE.
AND AS FAR AS WEBSITES, I DON’T KNOW EXACTLY WHERE IT’S LANDED, BUT I DO KNOW THAT WE HAVE A WEBSITE ASSOCIATED WITH THOSE LINES AND THOSE PROPOSALS.
OF COURSE THE ACTUAL LINES, AND THE ACTUAL CENSUS LINES WE HAVE, AND I’M ASSUMING THAT THE SAME COULD BE SAID OF RIVERSIDE COUNTY AS WELL AS ALL OTHER OF MY COLLEAGUES’ THAT ARE OUT THERE.
>>  THANK YOU.
KATHAY FENG:  GREAT.
AND I HAVE JUST POSTED – I DON’T KNOW IF THAT WORKED – THE STATE WEBSITE FOR CONGRESSIONAL LINES, STATE SENATE AND STATE ASSEMBLY.
>>  THAT DID WORK.
KATHAY FENG:  ON THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE, WEDRAWTHELINES.CA.GOV.
AND THE LINK I PUT IS TO WHERE YOU CAN FIND THE FINAL LINES.
AND YOU CAN SEE THEM – YOU CAN ZOOM ON THEM AND WHATNOT, AND YOU CAN SEE HOW THOSE LINES LOOK ACROSS THE STATE.
IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A LOCAL LINE, THEN FOR INSTANCE YOUR COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OR LIKE A PARTICULAR CITY, THEN YOU MIGHT TRY TO GO DOWN TO THAT LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT.
AND I SEE THAT DENISE HAS SENT A LINK FOR RIVERSIDE COUNTY.
DENISE, WHAT LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT THAT?
DENISE HULETT:  I’M SORRY, I WAS MUTED.
THAT’S THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS DISTRICT.
KATHAY FENG:  OKAY.
GOTCHA.
SO THAT’S HOW – GENERALLY SPEAKING, DEPENDING ON WHAT LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR, YOU’LL – JUST GOOGLE, YOU KNOW, YOUR COUNTY NAME, THE LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT, AND OFTENTIMES THERE WILL BE SOME WAY TO FIND THAT.
I KNOW MANY CITIES, IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A PARTICULAR DISTRICT – FOR INSTANCE A CITY COUNCIL PERSON IN LOS ANGELES, IF YOU CLICK ON THE CITY COUNCIL WOMAN’S DISTRICT, THEY WILL ACTUALLY – THE WEBSITE WILL ACTUALLY HAVE A LINK TO HOW THAT DISTRICT LOOKS.
SO IT MAY TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF DIGGING, IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING MORE LOCAL THAN THE STATE LEGISLATURE OR CONGRESSIONAL MAPS.
BUT IN MANY PLACES IN CALIFORNIA, THESE THINGS ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE.
SO WE HAD ANOTHER QUESTION COMING FROM TORY RICHARDSON.
TORY RICHARDSON:  YES.
CAN YOU HEAR ME?
KATHAY FENG:  GO AHEAD.
TORY RICHARDSON:  UM, YEAH.
WE HAVE A LOT OF DISTRICTS LIKE SAN DIEGO DOES.
AND IT DOES IMPACT OUR ELECTION WHEN THE CENSUS TRACKS CUT THROUGH PARCELS AND CUT THROUGH THESE AREAS OF HOMES.
AND WE WANT TO KNOW HOW TO GO ABOUT – WE HAVE A LOT OF THOSE AREAS, AND WE HAVE TO CALL, YOU KNOW, THE CENSUS BUREAU.
WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHERE THESE ACTUALLY – WHAT PARCELS ARE ON WHAT SIDE.
ARE THEY IN THE 51ST CONGRESSIONAL, 42ND CONGRESSIONAL?
BECAUSE THEY ARE SPLITTING A LOT OF THESE, YOU KNOW, HOMES OR TRACTS.
AND IF YOU ARE TRYING TO KEEP THESE COMMUNITIES TOGETHER, WHY – MY QUESTION IS, WHY ARE WE CUTTING THEM UP AND TAKE ONE PARCEL OUT AND THE OTHER ONE – AND CREATING ITS OWN SEPARATE BALLOT TYPE AT THAT POINT?
MY OTHER QUESTION IS, WHY ARE WE DOING THAT?
AND THE OTHER – MY SECOND QUESTION WOULD BE, IS THERE A WAY TO GET THESE MAPS BEFORE THEY ARE FINALIZED, SO THAT WE CAN LOOK AT THEM AT THE COUNTY LEVEL AND MAKE SUGGESTIONS AS TO REDRAW THOSE, EITHER THE CENSUS LINES, OR THOSE POLITICAL DISTRICTS THAT ARE DRAWN.
IS THERE TIME TO DO THAT, SO THAT –
>>  I’LL PAUSE AND SAY SOMETIMES IT MAY BE INTENTIONAL.
BUT A LOT OF TIMES, AS MICHAEL VU HAS INDICATED, IT’S NOT INTENTIONAL.
BUT SOMEBODY HAS TO POINT IT OUT TO THE RIGHT PERSON SO THAT THEY – AS THEY ARE LOOKING AT THE MAP, YOU KNOW, THEY CAN MATCH THAT.
AND WE SAW SOME EXAMPLES WHERE THANKFULLY, MICHAEL VU AND PEOPLE IN THE SAN DIEGO REGISTRAR, FOR INSTANCE, WERE LOOKING AT CORNERS OF – WHERE THOSE DISTRICTS WERE BEING PROPOSED AND TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE WASN’T AN ACCIDENTAL DRAWING OF SAY A SINGLE HOUSE OUT OF THE REST OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
THAT SAID, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, HE ZOOMED IN ON A PARTICULAR NOOK OF A DISTRICT.
AND THERE’S THOUSANDS OF NOOKS.
SO I THINK – MICHAEL, WHAT WOULD YOU THINK, YOU KNOW, IF
SOMEBODY HAS THAT KIND – THAT LEVEL OF ATTENTION TO A PARTICULAR DISTRICT AND HOW IT WAS BEING DRAWN, SHOULD THEY SHARE THAT INFORMATION WITH THEIR REGISTRAR, OR WOULD IT BE BETTER TO SHARE WITH IT AN ENTITY LIKE THE STATEWIDE DATABASE AT UC BERKELEY THAT’S TRYING TO COLLECT THIS AT A STATEWIDE LEVEL?
MICHAEL VU:  SO karin MCDONALD – AND I SHOULD SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, BACK IN 2000, OR PRIOR TO 2000, YOU KNOW, THE CENSUS BUREAU LINES WERE CUTTING ACROSS PARCELS AND TRACTS, AND THAT IS STILL GOING ON TODAY.
BUT TO DEFEND, IF YOU WILL, THE CENSUS BUREAU ON BEHALF OF karin, IT’S SAID THAT THEY HAVE COME A LONG WAYS.
AND I BELIEVE THAT THEY HAVE COME A LONG WAYS, EXCEPT FOR – YOU KNOW, THERE ARE THE PROJECTIONS OF THE U.S. CENSUS BUREAU HAS IS AT SUCH A HIGH LEVEL THAT THEY DON’T NECESSARILY SEE WHAT’S ACTUALLY HAPPENING ON THE GROUND WHEN YOU START ZOOMING IN TO A SPECIFIC JURISDICTION.
SO THAT’S WHY IT’S NOT PERFECT, BY ANY MEANS.
HAVING SAID THAT, I KNOW THAT karin MCDONALD HAS SENT OUT TO ME, AND I ASSUME TO MANY REGISTRARS OUT THERE AS WELL, THAT THE CENSUS BUREAU IS STARTING TO START RESERVING THOSE LINES NOW, TO START ASKING FOR INPUT ASSOCIATED WITH THE CENSUS TRACTS, THE BOUNDARIES, THE BLOCK GROUPS.
AND IT’S ACTUALLY HAPPENING NOW.
AND I DON’T KNOW WHAT DATE THE DEADLINE WAS, BUT I DO KNOW IF YOU REACH OUT TO KARIN, SHE’LL BE ABLE TO POINT YOU IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
FOR OUR COUNTY IT’S NOT THE REGISTRAR’S OFFICE THAT MAINTAINS THESE BOUNDARIES.
THERE’S ACTUALLY A LARGER CONGLOMERATE, IF YOU WILL, A CONSORTIUM OF CITIES AND THE COUNTY WORK THING TOGETHER, AND IT’S CALLED SANDAG, THAT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR, IF YOU WILL, THE PARCEL LAYER.
>>  RIGHT.
WELL, LIKE WE HAVE WHAT WE CALL THE RCIT, WHICH IS OUR TRACT STATION LINE MANAGEMENT PER SE.
AND THEY’RE WORKING WITH KARIN AND FIGURING OUT, YOU KNOW, THAT LOWER – YOU KNOW, THE LEVEL OF PARCELS AND WHAT THEY ARE – AND THEY SHOULD BE WORKING WITH THEM.
BUT WHEN WE COME TO IT AND WE SEE THESE BOUNDARIES, YOU KNOW, LIKE WE DID, YOU KNOW, EIGHT, TEN YEARS AGO, THEN THAT WOULD BE GREAT IF YOU COULD HAVE THEM BEFOREHAND SO WE CAN LOOK AT THEM.
OR IF THERE’S ANY THINGS THAT ARE BEING SPLIT LIKE THAT, SO WE DON’T GET INTO THAT PROBLEM.
YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN?
MICHAEL VU:  I DO.
>>  WE DIDN’T HAVE TIME, YOU KNOW, TO DO THAT.
SO WE HAD HUNDREDS OF – I SHOULDN’T SAY THOUSANDS, BUT PROBABLY HUNDREDS OF THESE QUESTIONS, AND WE JUST WENT RIGHT TO THE SOURCE.
WE WANT TO KARIN AND SAY OKAY, YOU LET US KNOW WHETHER THIS HOME IS IN THE – YOU KNOW, WHAT CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT.
BECAUSE WE CAN’T TELL.
LIKE YOU SAID, YOU KNOW, IT WAS A DIRT ROAD.
THERE WAS NOBODY ON IT.
AND THEN FIVE YEARS LATER, THEY BUILD ON IT.
YOU KNOW, AND WHAT DO YOU DO, YOU KNOW.
SO THOSE QUESTIONS WE POSED TO HER, AND WE TRIED TO – IF WE HAD TO SPLIT IT, WE HAD TO SPLIT IT, ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS TRACK.
MICHAEL VU:  THE DIFFICULTY IS, IS THAT THE CENSUS BOUNDARY LINES EXIST ON – YOU KNOW, THEY USE MULTIPLE GEOGRAPHY, POINTS OF GEOGRAPHY TO DRAW THEIR CENSUS BOUNDARY LINES, A WE ARE LOOKING AT IT FROM – FROM POWER LINES TO RIVERS TO MOUNTAIN SIDES AND ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT LAYERS FOR US.
WE ARE NEEDING SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT MORE BLACK AND WHITE, WHICH IS IT HAS TO BE DOWN A SPECIFIC, YOU KNOW, PARCEL BOUNDARY LINE OR A SPECIFIC – YOU KNOW, SOMETHING VERY CLEAR AND CUT, AND THAT’S NOT ALWAYS THE CASE.
AND SO FOR US, WE WORKED WITH THE LOCAL JURISDICTION AND SAID – AND THEY WORKED WITH GENERALLY THEIR CONSULTANT, BECAUSE THEY BRING ON CONSULTANTS TOO, AS TO WHERE THAT BOUNDARY LINE.
AND WE WENT SO MUCH AS TO CONTACT THE U.S. CENSUS BUREAU TO GET AS MUCH INFORMATION ASSOCIATED WITH IT THAN JUST THE BOUNDARY LINES THEMSELVES.
SO THEY POINTED US TO SPECIFIC PARTS, TO THEIR WEBSITE, THAT WE COULD FIND OUT A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT BOUNDARY LINE AND WHAT THE INTENT WAS.
>>  RIGHT.
OKAY.
IT JUST SOUNDS LIKE MAYBE THE REGISTER SHOULD GET MORE INVOLVED IN – I MEAN, IS THERE A WAY WE CAN SHARE OUR PARCEL DATA WITH THEM?
OR DID THEY ASK FOR THAT?
IS THE LAYER –
>>  I APOLOGIZE, BUT I’M GOING TO HAVE TO INTERRUPT.
BECAUSE THIS IS A REALLY POWERFUL AND IMPORTANT CONVERSATION, BUT WE ARE ACTUALLY OVER TIME.
>>  OH, YEAH – OKAY.
>>  HI.
SO WHAT I WILL JUST SAY IS I THINK THAT KARIN MCDONALD IS IN MANY WAYS THE RIGHT PERSON, BECAUSE SHE IS THE PERSON WHO MANAGES WHAT’S CALLED THE STATEWIDE DATABASE.
>>  RIGHT.
>>  AND IF FOLKS LOOK AT THE CHAT BOX – AND IT SOUNDS LIKE, TORY, YOU ALREADY CONNECTED WITH HER.
>>  YES.
>>  BUT FOR OTHER FOLKS WHO ARE LOOKING AT THIS, YOU HAVE GOT HER CONTACT INFORMATION.
SHE MAY BE SURPRISED THAT THERE IS ALL OF A SUDDEN PEOPLE WHO ARE CALLING HER UP.
BUT THAT IS WHAT THE STATEWIDE DATABASE AT UC BERKELEY IS VERY MUCH RESPONSIBLE FOR.
AND THE BEAUTY IS THAT NOW BETWEEN A COMBINATION OF HAVING GOOGLE MAPS, AND YOU KNOW, SOME OTHER SOFTWARE, IT’S EASIER FOR REGULAR FOLKS TO IDENTIFY WHEN STRANGE NOOKS AND CRANNIES THAT OUGHT NOT BE THERE CAN BE IDENTIFIED AND SO A CENSUS BLOCK CAN BE REDRAWN TO REFLECT WHERE COMMUNITIES ARE CHANGING.
SO I THINK THAT WHAT WE’VE GOT IS A LOT OF WAYS NOW FOR PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE AT THE LOCAL LEVEL, BUT ALSO IN SHAPING AND CHANGING OUR STATE LAW.
I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DIDN’T MENTION THAT THERE IS – WE HAVE MENTIONED A COUPLE OF GOOD LAWS, OR BILLS THAT ARE MAKING THEIR WAY THROUGH THE LEGISLATURE.
THERE’S ONE MORE THAT GIVES LOCALS THE OPTION, AND THAT’S 1288, THAT WOULD GIVE LOCAL JURISDICTIONS THE OPTION OF SWITCHING TO A DIFFERENT KIND OF VOTING, NOT DISTRICTING BUT RANK CHOICE VOTING OR IRV.
SO IF FOLKS ARE INTERESTED THAT, I’LL POST THAT UP ON THE CHAT AS WELL.
SO WITH THAT, FOLKS, IF YOU HAVE GOT ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, YOU ARE IN TOUCH WITH THE FUTURE OF CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS FOLK.
AND PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SHOOT THOSE QUESTIONS OVER TO VINCE HALL OR STEPHANIE JIMENEZ OR ASTRID GARCIA, AND THEY WILL BE SURE TO TRY TO FORWARD IT ON TO SOME OF THE PRESENTERS WHO ARE ON THIS LINE, WE WILL TRY TO KEEP THAT CONVERSATION GOING, SO PEOPLE HAVE THE INFORMATION THAT YOU NEED AT HAND TO BE FULL PARTICIPANTS IN THE UPCOMING REDISTRICTING ROUNDS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, EVERYONE, FOR STAYING ON THE LINE.
AND THANK YOU SO FOCE FOR HOSTING THIS CALL TODAY.
>>  THANK YOU, KATHAY, VERY MUCH.
>>  BYE.
>>  THANK YOU, KATHAY, FOR MODERATING.
WE ARE SO GLAD TO HAVE YOU.
AND THANK YOU TO OUR PANELISTS.
AND THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU FOR CALLING IN, AND WE HOPE TO HEAR FROM YOU OR SEE YOU AGAIN ON MAY 10TH FOR OUR NEXT WEBINAR.
GOOD-BYE, EVERYBODY.