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REDISTRICTING

California Voters FIRST - Proposition 11

Proposition 11, the California Voters FIRST measure on the November 2008 ballot, will bring real redistricting reform to our state.

For information about how you can get involved in the campaign, contact us or visit the campaign Web site.

On May 6 we turned in 1.2 million signatures to county elections offices to qualify the initiative for the November 2008 ballot.

It was certified by Secretary of State Debra Bowen on June 17, 2008.

Read our press release.

This reform will enable voters to choose their legislators and eliminate the conflict of interest that occurs when legislators draw the lines and choose their constituents. Read about this initiative:

• one-page summary
• important background points
• full text
• two-page overview

May 6, 2008 - We turned in 1.2 million signatures to county elections offices to qualify the initiaitve for the November 2008 ballot. Read the press release.

February 26, 2008 - Former state controller Steve Westly joined Governor Schwarzenegger as cochair of the campaign, heading a growing bipartisan list of endorsers. Read the press release. Then, visit the campaign Web site to request petitions, see the endorsement list, and start working for reform.

December 3, 2007 - Governor Schwarzenegger and the League of Women Voters of California endorsed the California Voters FIRST Act. Read the press release, President Hirohama's statement.

From left: California Governor Schwarzenegger, Janis Hirohama, LWVC President, and Kathay Feng, Executive Director of California Common Cause at the press conference on December 3 in Sacramento.

Movement toward Reform (2007)

September 7 - The League and coalition partners continue to meet with legislators to press for placing a redistricting reform measure on the February 2008 ballot. Read our press release.

August 23 - In Los Angeles, the LWVC and California Common Cause hosted a press conference with Governor Schwarzenegger and former Governors Davis and Wilson to push for passage of a redistricting reform measure this legislative session. Read our press statement. Play the video of the press conference.

From left: Janis Hirohama, LWVC President, Gov. Schwarzenegger, Voices of Reform Coalition Co-Chair Fred Keeley, LA County AARP Asst. State Director David Figueroa, and Voices of Reform Coalition Co-Chair Dan Schnur

Learn about the process of redistricting by playing The Redistricting Game.

April 24 -- The LWVC and its partners are pleased that several comprehensive bills have been introduced rcently. We urge legislators to move forward with hearings to devleop a reform proposal and place it on the ballot. Read the press release we issued.

The comprehensive proposals introduced in the legislature are ACA 1 (Price and Nuñez), SCA 9 (Ashburn) and SCA 10 (Lowenthal). Another bill, ACA 4 (Villines), contains provisions concerning the standards for drawing lines.

Two initiative proposals have been cleared for circulation of petitions for signatures: See this entry in the Secretary of State's 2007 Initiative Update.

Read and print a simple fact sheet about redistricting reform.

For links to news articles, opinion pieces, and more information about redistricting reform in Caliofrnia, visit the Commonwealth Club of California's Voices of Reform Project.

A Poll of California Voters

An April 2006 survey about Californians' attitudes toward redistricting reform shows strong support for an independent redistricting commission. View a PowerPoint summary of the survey results. (1.3Mb)

The League commissioned the poll along with California Common Cause and the Rose Institute of State and Local Government. Partial funding was received from the James Irvine Foundation.

Elements of Redistricting Reform

The basic elements of redistricting reform are

• an independent redistricting commission that reflects the diversity of our state,
• an open process for public input and scrutiny, and
• sound criteria for the drawing of plans.

Sign up to be on the League's redistricting activists e-list at redistricting@lwvc.org.

History of LWVC Redistricting Advocacy

We have been active since 2005 in our efforts to change the redistricting system. Read a history of our advocacy efforts in 2005 and 2006.

Valuable Reports and Background Information

• The Shape of Representative Democracy (PDF file), a November 2005 report by The Campaign Legal Center and The Council for Excellence in Government that outlines a set of consensus principles for reforming congressional and legislative redistricting. The principles were endorsed by the League of Women Voters as well as other reform organizations and individuals as one way of moving ahead to achieve real redistricting reform.
  
  
• The League endorsed a 2005 report, Drawing Lines: A Public Interest Guide to Real Redistricting Reform , by the nonpartisan organizations Demos and the Center for Governmental Studies. Read the press release about the report. The report recommends features of Independent Redistricting Commissions and analyzes current California proposals. See also Re-Drawing Lines an update analyzing 2006 proposals.
  
  
• "California Redistricting in the 1990s: The Process and the Public Interest" (PDF - 280k). The summary of the League's 1988 study of redistricting containing information highly relevant in 2005.
  
  
• Our position on Redistricting. Adopted by the League of Women Voters of California in 1988 and the basis of our action.