California voters are inclined to support the political maps drawn by a commission they created, but nearly two-thirds are unfamiliar with the work of the California Citizens Redistricting Commission, a new Field Poll shows.

The survey found huge majorities of Democrats, Republicans and nonpartisans unfamiliar with the 14-member panel and its work this year to craft new political boundaries for 80 state Assembly seats, 40 Senate seats and 53 members of Congress from California.

The lack of awareness was greatest among those under age 50 and those without a postgraduate college degree.

Still, pluralities of voters said they would support the Senate and congressional maps if Republicans succeed in placing challenges on the ballot via referendum. The Assembly maps are not being challenged.

The Senate maps were favored 42 percent to 29 percent among all voters and 52 percent to 30 percent among the one-third of voters who said they were aware of the commission's work.

Asked about the congressional maps, 44 percent of voters said they would support the commission's work while 28 percent said they would support the referendum to overturn the maps. The margin was higher among those aware of the commission: 62 percent to 22 percent.

"Overall, the assessment (for the maps) is pretty good," said poll director Mark DiCamillo. "There's a huge proportion undecided, so it's not in the clear. You don't have the overwhelming majority support, (but) it starts out with a lead."

Neither question may make the ballot. Organizers of the the campaign against the Senate maps have raised more than $500,000 toward a drive that must collect 504,760 valid voter signatures by Nov. 14 to halt the maps and force a vote at the June election.

Referendum supporters say the commission's maps are unconstitutional for a variety of reasons, including the fact that two major counties – Sacramento and San Bernardino – are each split into six different districts.

The congressional referendum campaign, which faces the same Nov. 14 deadline, appears moribund amid disagreements about the maps among Republican members of Congress.

DiCamillo said the arcane, once-a-decade process of redrawing political boundaries "really is far removed from people's day-to-day lives."

But he noted that voters approved the commission via Proposition 11 in 2008 to wrest the job from the Legislature. They may be giving its work the benefit of the doubt even if they have no idea how the lines were drawn.

"That's probably working to the benefit of the commission, somewhat," he said.

Of the one-third of voters aware of the panel's work, 45 percent said the maps succeed in keeping cities and counties together and are fair to both parties. Forty-one percent said the maps were fair to major ethnic groups.

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Call Bee Capitol Bureau Chief Dan Smith, (916) 321-5249.

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