Open and Transparent: The Citizens Redistricting Commission

Abstract

THE CALIFORNIA Journal of Politics & Policy Commentary Open and Transparent: The Citizens Redistricting Commission Chris Carson and Trudy Schafer League of Women Voters of California Through the passage of two propositions in 2008 and 2010, Californians established an independent Citizens Re- districting Commission to draw districts based on specific, nonpartisan rules designed to ensure fair representation. One of the most important aspects of this reform of re- districting for the state legislature, Board of Equalization, and the House of Representatives is that the process must be open to scrutiny by the public and the press. We are extremely pleased that the commission’s work—as well as Copyright © 2011 The Berkeley Electronic Press. All rights reserved. www.bepress.com/cjpp Volume 3, Issue 3, 2011 the implementation work leading up to the appointment of the commission—has in fact been open and transparent. Our organization, the League of Women Voters of Cal- ifornia, bases advocacy on policy positions that arise from our members’ thorough study and agreement. We believe that the redistricting reform principles we have endorsed for more than 20 years have been realized with the success of the Citizens Redistricting Commission. Six years ago, we renewed our redistricting reform ef- forts in collaboration with a number of other groups and individuals who saw an opportunity for change. Because we prefer a legislative solution to the initiative process, we worked for almost three years to get a reform bill through the legislature. Along the way, we opposed an initiative, Proposition 77 of 2005, because it did not meet our cri- teria. Despite our collective best efforts, it ultimately be- came clear that reform was not going to come through the legislative process, and we concluded that we had to take the initiative route.