Redistricting in California is not apolitical at all. It still caters to special interests

Across this deeply divided nation, state legislatures are busy trying to shape the direction of national politics for the next decade. It doesn’t take much to push it one way or the other, not at a time when Congress is split nearly down the middle.

In North Carolina, for instance, GOP lawmakers believe they’ve found a way to eliminate three of five districts now held by Democrats. In Texas, despite some shifts in statewide political sentiment, new maps are tailored to preserve Republicans’ outsized advantage in the congressional delegation.

In Missouri and Tennessee, rural Republicans have even found a way to wipe out urban Democratic seats.

To be sure, some blue-state legislatures have done some partisan shaping of their own, notably in Illinois.

But for Democrats, the bottom line is brutal. States controlled by Republicans are drawing lines for 187 congressional districts. States controlled by Democrats are shaping just 75.

But what about California? Even though it’s losing one seat, California is still the big dog in the House of Representatives with 52 seats, or as many as Texas and North Carolina combined. California Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly 2-to-1.

Surely it can use its influence to balance the playing field, right?

No, it can’t. More than a decade ago, in an effort led by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, California unilaterally laid down its arms and surrendered its ability to counter the political machinations of politicians elsewhere.

The once-a-decade job of redrawing political districts has been handed over to a commission literally chosen by ping-pong balls that is forbidden to even consider the political consequences of its acts. Remarkably, even though 46% of California voters are Democrats and 24% are Republicans, the commission consists of five Democrats and five Republicans. Independents and those aligned with other parties, who combine for 29% of the state electorate, get just four commissioners.

The idea behind creating the commission was supported by so-called good-government groups who felt that a politically sterile process would be a better way of creating new district lines than the hyper-political process once again taking place in most states.

Indeed, gerrymandering is an ugly, undemocratic process undertaken by political parties to strengthen their hold on power and to effectively write the will of voters out of the electoral equation. It ought to be abolished in every state. In fact, the Democratically-controlled U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation this year, H.R. 1, to accomplish that. But the measure is stalled by Republicans in the U.S. Senate.

As a result, other states press the fight for political dominance, many of them gleeful that California has voluntarily removed itself from the battlefield.

And what has California received in return for having given up so much? A messy, flawed process that’s being criticized by activists from both parties and by advocates for Asian-American, Black and LGBTQ groups.

Final maps won’t be certified until about Christmas, but draft maps have produced some eye-popping anomalies, such as splitting downtown Sacramento into two Congressional districts. Because of the randomness of the selection process, it turns out that two of the commissioners hail from San Joaquin County — resulting in a congressional map that intentionally keeps that county whole while causing massive disruptions throughout the state.

It’s now obvious that California has traded one flawed system for another.

Meanwhile, we watch as other states try to manipulate the nation’s future.

Much is at stake. The ability of women to control their reproductive health. The prospects for getting this pandemic under control. The way forward toward racial equality. The question of whether we’ll even put up a good fight to prevent a global climate catastrophe. Even our democracy itself.

While all of these issues hang in the balance, California can only watch as others tip the scales. It was a mistake to unilaterally surrender.

This story was originally published December 16, 2021 at 5:00 AM.