- Training videos from the March 2011 RedistrictingCA Conference
- Training videos from the January 2011 RedistrictingCA Conference
Overview Redistricting Information
- RedistrictingCA Pocket Guide What is Redistricting? Why is it important to me? How can I participate in redistricting in CA? What redistricting terms should I know? Get answers to these questions and more by downloading the Pocket Guide
- ABC’s of Redistricting (Loyola School of Law) If you don’t know much about redistricting or need a quick refresher, this is a fantastic resource.
- Spikes and Bolts: The Rules of the Game (Asian Pacific American Legal Center) This presentation gives a good overview of why we redistrict and what criteria for drawing congressional and state maps will be used by the Citizens Redistricting Commission.
- Getting Involved in the Redistricting Process (African American Redistricting Collaborative) This is a good outline for why and how communities should get involved in the redistricting process.
- Redistricting 101 (Asian Law Caucus) Christopher Punongbayan from the Asian Law Caucus gave a great overview of the redistricting process at the conference last week. He told us about “how equal is equal” when it comes to the size of districts and detailed the requirements from the Voting Rights Act.
California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CRC)
- What is the CRC? The commission is a 14 member body made up of five Republicans, five Democrats and four commissioners registered as Decline to State or another political party. It is tasked with drawing lines for California’s congressional, State Senate, State Assembly and Board of Equalization districts.
- Who are the commissioners? Five Republicans, five Democrats and four commissioners registered as Decline to State or another political party make up the sitting CRC.
- When is the next meeting?
Voting Rights Act
- Staying on Track with the Voting Rights Act (Brennan Center for Justice) This short presentation will give you a quick overview of how and why the Voting Rights Act helps protect minority populations and what kind of violations to look out for.
- VRA Issues and California Redistricting (Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Social Policy & Law atUC Berkeley School of Law) There are many criteria to pay attention to for redistricting, but only some that are affected by the VRA. Learn which redistricting criteria are subject to limits within the Voting Rights Act.
- History of the VRA and Constitutional Considerations of Race (Brennan Center for Justice)
- Full Steam Ahead: What’s Hot on the Redistricting Litigation Front? (NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund) It walks through two cases, Bartlett v. Strickland and Gonzalez v. City of Compton. Both deal with multi-racial districts, an increasingly widespread reality.
Supporting Your Community in the Redistricting Process
- Redistricting 2011: Drawing Lines that Matter! (Greenlining Institute) Are you represented? This outline walks you through finding out whether or not you are adequately represented by your district lines.
- Tips for Giving Testimony about Your Community (CAUSE) This helpful handout has checklists for people interested in presenting about their communities to the Commission. It covers geography, social and economic factors, lifestyles, groups and affiliations, agencies and services, changes, community assets, representation, and interests.
- State Definitions of “community of interest“ (Brennan Center for Justice)
- Local Redistricting in California (League of Women Voters of California) Learn who is responsible for your local redistricting efforts and what the process is.
- Participating in Local Redistricting (Nielsen Merksamer Parrinello Gross & Leoni) This includes key dates for general law cities and special districts, along with public hearing information and redistricting effects on incumbents.
- ReDrawCA: Your Online Redistricting/Mapping Resource (Advancement Project) A wiki can be a very powerful tool for sharing information about your community during the redistricting process. This presentation takes you through this process with one particular website.
Potential Abuses of Redistricting
- Captive “Constituents” (NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund) Most state and local governments count incarcerated persons as residents of the prison communities where they are incarcerated when drawing election district lines, despite the fact that prisoners are not integrated into those communities and are not residents there.