Under a division-based election system, the District would be divided into five new, equally-populated divisions. A candidate must reside within the electoral division in which they run, and is elected only by voters residing within that same division.
Currently, the Board of Directors consists of five Directors who are elected at-large. This means any eligible voter who lives in the District can run for office, and every voter may vote for all five of the Board of Directors seats, regardless of where they live in the District.
Districting determines which neighborhoods and communities are grouped together into a electoral division for purpose of electing a Board of Directors. The District will seek input in selecting the next division map for electing a Board of Directors. You have an opportunity to share with the District how you think district boundaries should be drawn to best represent your community either during the public hearings or by submitting comments to msmith@crpd.org.
- Federal Laws
- Equal Population (based on total population of residents as determined by the most recent Federal decennial Census and adjusted by the State to reassign incarcerated persons to the last known place of residence)
- Federal Voting Rights Act
- No Racial Gerrymandering
- Other Traditional Districting Principles
- Geographically contiguous (areas must be physically connected)
- Neighborhoods and “communities of interest” (Such as socio-economic geographic areas that should be kept together for purposes of its effective and fair representation)
- Easily identifiable boundaries
- Compactness
- Respect voters’ choices/continuity in office
- Future population growth
A community of interest is a “contiguous population that shares common social and economic interests that should be included within a single division for purposes of its effective and fair representation.”
Below are useful excerpts from the Local Government Redistricting Toolkit by Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus (2020).
Communities of interest are the overlapping sets of neighborhoods, networks, and groups that share interests, views, cultures, histories, languages, and values and whose boundaries can be identified on a map.
The following elements help define communities of interest:
- shared interests in schools, housing, community safety, transit, health conditions, land use, environmental conditions, and/or other issues;
- common social and civic networks, including churches, mosques, temples, homeowner associations, and community centers, and shared use of community spaces, like parks and shopping centers;
- racial and ethnic compositions, cultural identities, and households that predominantly speak a language other than English;
- similar socio-economic status, including but not limited to income, home-ownership, and education levels;
- shared political boundary lines from other jurisdictions, such as school districts, community college districts, and water districts.
Share your specific thoughts or attend an upcoming workshop to get involved!
- Submit written testimony about your community, the process, or a specific map to msmith@crpd.org.
- Click here to see the calendar of workshops and public hearings at which you can speak about the process or a specific map.
These are standard categories included in the Census. Not all of the categories are relevant for creating division maps. Acronyms include:
- NH: Non-Hispanic
- VAP: Voting age population
- CVAP: Citizen Voting Age Population
- CVRA: California Voting Rights Act
- ACS: American Community Survey, a program of the US Census Bureau
- FAIR MAPS Act: Fair And Inclusive Redistricting for Municipalities and Political Subdivisions
- NDC: National Demographics Corporation (the firm hired to produce the maps and provide demographic data)
No, you do not need to submit a fully completed map. You can draw boundaries for only your neighborhood or only a portion of the District. It is helpful if you submit written commentary with your map describing why the particular neighborhood or area should be kept together in a single division.
Yes, you may submit more than one map. Please draw as many maps as you like. We suggest you submit only your top 2-3 preferred maps to assist the Board of Directors in focusing on the map that best represents your community; however, there is no limit.
After you submit your map, the demographic consultants will generate the population and other demographic details for your proposed map. Maps can be viewed on the Draft Maps page or on the Interactive Review Map.
Once submitted, maps are considered public records.
Online publications and guides to districting/redistricting: