CC 2021-07-27_09b District Based Election System_PP PresentationCity of Arroyo Grande
Introduction to Districting
July 27, 2021
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Election Systems
“At Large”
“From District” or “Residence” Districts
“By District”
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The California Voting Rights Act was written to specifically encourage by-district elections
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California Voting Rights Act (CVRA)
Under the Federal Voting Rights Act (passed in 1965), a jurisdiction must fail 4 factual tests before it is in violation of the law.
The California VRA makes it significantly easier for plaintiffs to force jurisdictions into “by-district” election systems by eliminating two of the US Supreme Court Gingles tests:
Can the protected class constitute the majority of a district?
Does the protected class vote as a bloc?
Do the voters who are not in the protected class vote in a bloc to defeat the preferred candidates of the protected class?
Do the “totality of circumstances” indicate race is a factor in elections?
Liability is now determined only by the presence of racially polarized voting
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CVRA Impact
Switched (or in the process of switching) as a result of CVRA:
At least 240 school districts
34 Community College Districts
154 cities
1 County Board of Supervisors
35 water and other special districts.
Cases So Far:
Palmdale, Santa Clara and Santa Monica went to trial on the merits. Palmdale and Santa Clara lost. Santa Monica is awaiting a decision.
Modesto and Palmdale each spent about $1.8 million on their defense (in addition to the attorney fee awards in those cases).
Santa Monica has spent an estimated $7 million so far. Plaintiffs in Santa Monica requested $22 million in legal fees after the original trial.
Key settlements:
Palmdale: $4.7 million
Modesto: $3 million
Highland: $1.3 million
Anaheim: $1.1 million
Whittier: $1 million
Santa Barbara: $600,000
Tulare Hospital: $500,000
Camarillo: $233,000
Compton Unified: $200,000
Madera Unified: about $170,000
Hanford Joint Union Schools: $118,000
Merced City: $42,000
An estimated $16 million in total settlements and court awards so far.
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Districting Process
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Districting Rules and Goals
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Equal Population
Federal Voting Rights Act
No Racial Gerrymandering
1. Federal Laws
2. California Criteria for
Cities
Geographically contiguous
Undivided neighborhoods and “communities of interest”
(Socio-economic geographic areas that should be kept together)
Easily identifiable boundaries
Compact
(Do not bypass one group of people to get to a more distant group of people)
Prohibited:
“Shall not favor or discriminate against a political party.”
3. Other Traditional Districting Principles
Respect voters’ choices / continuity in office
Future population growth
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Defining Neighborhoods
1st Question: what is your neighborhood?
2nd Question: what are its geographic boundaries?
Examples of physical features defining a neighborhood boundary:
Natural neighborhood dividing lines, such as highway or major roads, rivers, canals and/or hills
Areas around parks or schools
Other neighborhood landmarks
In the absence of public testimony, planning records and other similar documents may provide definition.
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Beyond Neighborhoods:
Defining Communities of Interest
1st Question: what defines your community?
Geographic Area, plus
Shared issue or characteristic
Shared social or economic interest
Impacted by city policies
Tell us “your community’s story”
2nd Question:
Would this community benefit from being “included within a single district for purposes of its effective and fair representation”?
Or would it benefit more from having multiple representatives?
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Definitions of Communities of Interest may not include relationships with political parties, incumbents, or political candidates.
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Demographic Summary
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Estimates using official 2020 demographic data and NDC’s estimated total population figures.
Each of the 4 districts must contain about 4,500 people.
Check out the Arroyo Grande Story Map for maps of some of this demographic data.
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Public Mapping and Map Review Tools
Different tools for different purposes
Different tools for different levels of comfort and interest, found at WEBSITE LINK
Simple “learn about your community” Story Map
Simple “review draft maps” interactive mapping tool
Paper- and Excel-based simple “Draw a draft map” tools
Easy-to-use online “Draw your neighborhood” / “Draw a draft map” tool (coming soon)
July 27, 2021
Whether you use the online mapping tool, Excel, the paper kit, or just draw on a napkin, we welcome your maps!
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Public Hearing & Discussion
What are the neighborhoods of the city, and what are their boundaries?
What other notable areas are in the city, and what are their boundaries?
Any questions about the mapping tools?
July 27, 2021
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