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California Propositions: Proposition 20

Tracy Bloom, Jennifer Fong |
September 27, 2010 | 3:27 p.m. PDT

Senior Opinion Editor, Staff Reporter

California Propositions is a series about propositions that will be on the California ballot in November. See Proposition 19 here

Graphic by Jennifer Fong, with Creative Commons images by Flickr users arriabelli, secretlondon123, aflcio, photoshoproadmap
Graphic by Jennifer Fong, with Creative Commons images by Flickr users arriabelli, secretlondon123, aflcio, photoshoproadmap

 

My Two Cents:  In 2008, California voters passed Proposition 11, a ballot initiative that took redistricting power for state races away from lawmakers and put it in the hands of ordinary citizens. This election, voters will decide on yet another redistricting measure - Proposition 20 - which essentially extends Prop 11 to the congressional level.

Prop 11 created an independent citizens group, the Citizens Redistricting Commission. The Committee is charged with establishing new boundaries for the State Senate and Assembly districts. It will be comprised of 14 registered state voters: five Democrats, five Republicans and four with no party affiliation. Essentially, their goal is to determine “communities of interest”, which presumably will make the redistricting process fairer.  If Prop 20 passes, this same group will also determine the boundaries of congressional districts.  
 
Currently, almost every single legislative and congressional seat in California is a safe one. Take a look at a legislative district map: they are currently carved up in such a convoluted way so as to ensure that a single party controls it and that the incumbent keeps the seat.

Gerrymandered districts have made it a necessity to take the power of redistricting away from the politicians. What incentive, after all, does a politician have to draw up anything unfavorable? The answer, of course, is none. Politicians clearly have a conflict of interest when it comes to drawing up their own districts.

There is no question that the system needs to be overhauled. However, in my view, this measure is premature coming as close as it does to the first initiative. The Citizens Redistricting Committee has not even been picked yet; it will not even begin the process until next year. Furthermore, as the California League of Women Voters pointed out, Proposition 20 gives the Committee one-third more work while reducing the amount of time they have to complete it by a month.

Voters deserve to have competitive races that offer them a real choice at the ballot box. Will the Committee do that? Theoretically, yes. However, before we extend the committee’s duties, shouldn’t we wait and see if its approach works? Real, lasting reform does not happen overnight—it takes time, trial and effort.  Let’s give the Committee time to complete its first task before overwhelming it with another daunting challenge.  - Tracy Bloom

Reach Editor Tracy Bloom here.

Reach Reporter Jennifer Fong here.



 

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