California’s Citizen Redistricting Commission is erasing Latinos. That’s unacceptable

Ten years ago, the California Legislature put the Voters First Act on the statewide ballot. It was one of the nation’s earliest, boldest efforts to eliminate gerrymandering and guarantee fairness in our political system.

To accomplish that goal, the Citizens Redistricting Commission was born - splitting the power to draw new district lines every ten years to include five Democrats, five Republicans, and four representatives from other political parties.

The decisions this commission makes affect every Californian: they set boundaries that dictate the way communities are represented in the halls of power for an entire decade.

While members of political parties are guaranteed a seat at this incredibly important table, people of color are not. Remarkably when the first eight members were selected through the State Auditors randomized selection process last week, not a single Latino was included. Just like that, nearly 40% of California’s population was erased from the process.

How could any so-called “citizens’ commission” exclude Latino representation; a population that makes up nearly half of the state’s citizenry? That isn’t how a functioning democracy works, and it certainly should not have happened in a state that is as proud of its progressive values as California has been.

Fortunately, there are still five open seats to be filled by the first eight members who were selected last week.

Given the glaring absence of California’s largest ethnic group from the citizens commission, the remaining five seats should go to Latinos. Anything less would violate the spirit and intent of California’s law to ensure fairness in our political boundary drawing.

Beyond this critical short-term correction, the Legislature should immediately examine updates to the law to mitigate the risk of future under representation of ethnic or racial groups. The legislature should also provide flexibility for a longer-term course correction as well.

Neither Latinos nor any underrepresented group should have to beg for a seat at the table responsible for shaping the future of California’s democracy.

A recent report by the UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Initiative shows that Latinos are chronically underrepresented in the redistricting process: from the number of applications we submit, to our eligibility, to the final slots provided for members of our community. This year, Latinos were a meager 16% of the total number of people who applied for a spot on the Commission.

This is where public education and community engagement is key. We already know what works – we spend millions to drive participation in the census, so why not mount a similar effort when it comes to redistricting? Latino communities in rural and urban parts of California deserve to hear from trusted voices about how vital our participation is in the ongoing fight for equal representation.

Under the current process, applicants to the Citizens Redistricting Commission are organized and selected based primarily on their political party preference. While partisan parity is important, it is clearly not the sole factor that should be considered to ensure fairness in our political system.

That is why we urge our former colleagues in the Legislature to quickly advance a constitutional amendment that would allow voters the opportunity to weigh in about how commission members are selected. Such a measure should expand California’s current, myopic focus on partisan parity to include geographic, gender, ethnic, and racial considerations.

This piece was co-signed by: John A. Perez, Fabian Nunez, Antonio Villaraigosa, Cruz Bustamante, Herb Wesson, Darrell Steinberg, Don Perata and Bill Lockyer.

This story was originally published July 8, 2020 at 12:22 PM.