I touched on this last week, and I am sticking to staying unplugged. Therefore, I'd like to share an article with you on Escondido's independent redistricting written by Commission Chair, Bobby Case.
- JR
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Escondido’s Independent Redistricting: Where Did It Come From; What Is It; And Why Should I Care?
Part One: Historical Overview and Redistricting’s Driving Logic.
Since 1790, the U.S. Government has conducted a “decennial census,” that is, a count of the entire population every ten years. This decades-old process is guided by many legal authorities, namely Article 1, 2 of the U.S. Constitution and the overarching Constitutional principle of “one person, one vote.”
The census count provides crucial data used for a whole host of purposes; for example, ensuring an equal apportionment of Federal funds available to each State based on population shifts over the previous decade. Even more importantly, the census was created (in part) to ensure every State has equal representation in the US House Representatives–again–based on the State’s newly adjusted population. Although the census is a Federal process, subordinate legislative bodies like the California State Assembly and even our own Escondido City Council also use census data to adjust their voting district boundaries. This adjusting, or “redistricting” as we call it in California, has such a monumental impact on our individual and communal interests, given that the boundaries drawn will dictate where we can vote, who we can vote for, and who else is voting in your district. Moreover, the magnitude of the final electoral lines is so significant because the electoral maps that those lines divide become law for the next decade.
Now, you may ask yourself:
Who are some of these interested parties responsible for drawing the very important lines that become law for ten years?
Who is responsible for balancing the scales (map boundaries) of our elections to ensure every vote is counted and every voice is heard?
Who is entrusted to create the maps that determine the specific representatives citizens can and cannot vote for based on those lines?
