DemCast

Dude, Where’s My District? Redistricting in California

Indivisible East Bay

By Ann G. Daniels and Larry Baskett

Remember the census? We know, the pandemic has lasted a million years, so that seems like another life. You probably filled out the questionnaire and forgot about it, but your answers had real-life consequences. In the words of the California Secretary of State’s “California Redistricting” web page, California uses the census data “to redraw the Congressional, State Senate, State Assembly, and State Board of Equalization districts based on population changes” since the last census ten years ago:

What does redistricting mean to voters? It’s possible that the districts for your Congressional, State Assembly, State Senate, and Board of Equalization will change, which means that your representatives in these elected offices may change after the next general election. More immediately, though, voters will be voting for candidates running for office using the new district boundaries in California’s June 7, 2022, Primary Election.

In other words: everything is the same until the June 2022 election. But in that election, you may be voting in a new Congressional, State Senate or State Assembly district than you’ve voted in before — you may even be voting in a district not represented by the people who currently represent you, and you may end up represented by different people even if the people who currently represent you stay in office. And after the election, you may have two State Senators — or none! 

Sound weird? Sound confusing? It is, a little. But we’ll break it down for you and tell you what you can do to stay – or get – involved.

What you can do – the bottom line:

  1. Find out your new districts and legislators – don’t assume they’re the same as they’ve been! 
    • To find out ALL your new districts – federal and state: 
      • Go to https://www.wedrawthelinesca.org/final_maps and scroll down to the map viewer. In the “Maps” box that’s hovering over the map itself, check these boxes:
        • “Congressional Districts – Final Map 12-20-21”
        • “Senate Districts – Final Map 12-20-21”
        • “Assembly Districts – Final Map 12-20-21”
      • Close the “Maps” box. Enter your home address in the search bar and click on the map near your home. A small pop-up with information on your Senate district will appear, with the district number shown as “SD __” under the black line. Now click the small triangle pointing right in the top blue bar of the popup box and you’ll see your Assembly district information. Click the triangle again to see your congressional district information.
    • Want to find just your U.S. House of Representatives district? Use this LA Times site.
  2. Sign up with Indivisible East Bay to get notified about visits to your Member of Congress and State Senator and Assemblymember 
  3. If you’re going to be in a new district, represented by new legislators, find out about them! Email info@indivisibleeb.org for info or to get involved in our legislative teams
  4. Read on for more information about specific changes that may affect you – and pass this article on to your friends, family and neighbors!

Deep dive:

This is the California Secretary of State’s redistricting page, here’s the Redistricting Commission’s FAQ page, and here’s the website with all the new, final maps. 

FEDERAL/CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS:

California’s population grew by about 2.4 million people between the 2010 and 2020 censuses. That’s a 6.5% growth rate, which was a slower rate of growth than the rest of the country. Since there are a fixed number of seats in the House of Representatives, what matters is each state’s proportion of the total population, and the 2020 census showed California with a smaller percentage than before – and that’s why, for the first time, California will lose a seat in the House of Representatives. That lost seat belongs to Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard in the LA Area, but the new redistricting changes every district in the state to some extent. Here’s what the new East Bay districts will look like:

STATE:

Not sure what state districts you’re currently in, and who represents you? Enter your address here to find out.

State Senate: 

It’s complicated.

The easy part: State senators serve four-year terms. This year, Senators in even-numbered districts are reaching the end of their terms, while those in odd-numbered districts are halfway through theirs. Thus, even-numbered districts under the new maps will elect a new senator this year, while the odd-numbered districts will keep the same senators until the 2024 election. 

However, after the redistricting you may not end up in the same district you were before – and, as the Secretary of State’s redistricting website says, you will vote in the 2022 elections according to the district where you live under the new maps. Here’s what that means:

If you wonder whether our minds have been addled by too much pandemic – no, this is really how it works. As the League of Women Voters says, it’s a “normal consequence of the redistricting process” that “each accelerated area essentially has two Senators representing the area and each deferred area has none. The Senate Committee on Rules will assign a Senator to provide appropriate constituent services to each deferred area.” Normal or not, the same thing happened after district lines were redrawn after the last census – and poor Castro Valley was stuck in the middle then, too.

State Assembly:

This is much simpler than the State Senate! Assemblymembers run for election every two years. As far as we know, all the following incumbents intend to run for re-election, except as noted:

Ann G. Daniels has enjoyed a checkered background: attorney, reproductive rights advocate, web content creator, literacy teacher, craftsperson, perpetual nerd, occasional rabble-rouser.

Larry Baskett is a mechanical engineer who spent a year as a Science and Technology Policy Fellow with the California State Senate.

Amelia Cass contributed to this article.

Maps: Copyright California Secretary of State

“Welcome to California sign at the northwest end of California State Route 266 in Mono County, California” copyright Famartin

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