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

Graphic by Monica Nguyen.

My Two Cents: Though lost in the shuffle of more “glamorous” ballot measures, Proposition 27 is still one of the more important ones that voters will decide on in the election.

Prop 27 the second of two redistricting initiatives on the Nov. 2 ballot. Each of these two measures is related to Prop 11, a ballot initiative that was passed in 2008. 

Prop 11 created the Citizens Redistricting Committee, which is charged with drawing up new state senate and assembly districts after the results of the 2010 census are released. The committee, which has not been picked yet, will be made up of 14 registered voters - five Democrats, five Republicans and four belonging to neither party.

Prior to the passage of Prop 11, the state’s elected officials drew up their own districts. If you ever wondered why it seems like the same people get elected to the State Legislature over and over again—there’s your answer. Districts are so gerrymandered that most seats are considered “safe” seats, meaning it leans so far Republican or Democrat that the party in power will almost always keep the seat.

Taking redistricting power away from the state lawmakers was absolutely the correct thing to do. As a result, voters may actually have a real, genuine choice at the ballot box in future elections.

However, if Prop 27 gets passed, there’s a good chance that we’ll go back to the old method. Prop 27 seeks to overturn Prop 11 and disband the Citizens Redistricting Committee before it even gets an opportunity to do its job.

But there’s a hitch in all of this. Another ballot initiative would derail Prop 27 even before the vote. That measure is Proposition 20. Prop 20 would expand the Citizens Redistricting Committee’s redistricting responsibilities to include congressional races.

Since both measures deal with the exact same issue, only one can become law—even if both propositions pass. If Prop 20 and Prop 27 both pass, then the one with the higher amount of votes wins. Thus, it is entirely possible that Prop 27 could win a majority of votes, and still not disband the Committee.

Of course, there’s another alternative. If neither redistricting measure passes, then Prop 11 stands as it did before.

Let’s face it: California’s political process is broken. Passing Proposition 27 would do nothing to fix that. - Tracy Bloom