Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Poorest Americans Dealt Biggest Blow Under Senate Republican Tax Package

10 hours ago

Trump Vowed to Dismantle MS-13. His Deal With Bukele Threatens That Effort.

14 hours ago

Ukraine Voices Concern as US Halts Some Missile Shipments

14 hours ago

Poll: Most Americans Say National Divide, Political Violence Threaten Democracy

15 hours ago

Paramount Settles With Trump Over ‘60 Minutes’ Interview for $16 Million

15 hours ago

Republicans Tee up House Vote on Trump Bill, Outcome Uncertain

15 hours ago

What’s Next for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs After His Sex Trafficking Trial?

15 hours ago

Dalai Lama Says He Will Be Reincarnated, Trust Will Identify Successor

15 hours ago
California’s Messier, but Fairer, Redistricting Process
dan_walters
By Dan Walters, CalMatters Commentary
Published 4 years ago on
November 15, 2021

Share

For many decades, the decennial chore of redrawing California’s congressional and legislative districts was relatively simple.

Dan Walters

Opinion

Every 10 years, following the census, legislative and congressional leaders would hire some knowledgeable number-crunchers and privately divvy up the districts for purely political purposes.

If one party controlled both the Legislature and the governorship, it would maximize its ability to remain in power. The maps that the dominant Democrats drew up after the 1980 census was the last time California saw a blatantly partisan gerrymander.

Republicans howled and persuaded voters to overturn the plan via a referendum, but the state Supreme Court ordered that the rejected maps be used anyway for the 1982 elections, in which Democrats retained their control of the Legislature and the congressional delegation.

Assembly Speaker Willie Brown publicly thanked “Sister Rose and the Supremes” for helping his party overcome the referendum, referring to Chief Justice Rose Bird. It fueled a successful drive to oust Bird and two other justices when they stood for re-election four years later.

Redrawn Districts Favored Democrats

After the 1982 election, Democrats enacted a slightly altered version of the gerrymander and then-Gov. Jerry Brown signed it just before leaving office. The congressional map was particularly slanted toward Democrats and its primary creator, San Francisco Congressman Phil Burton, laconically called it “my contribution to modern art.”

Control of redistricting was the primary, if unspoken, issue of the 1990 campaign for governor, and after Republican Pete Wilson won he vetoed a new set of maps drawn by Democrats, throwing the issue into the state Supreme Court. The court generated maps of its own that allowed the Republicans to make some gains in the 1992 and 1994 elections.

Democrats once again controlled the Legislature and the governorship after the 2000 census, but a partisan gerrymander was blunted by other factors, including an implicit threat of intervention by the U.S. Department of Justice under President George W. Bush.

The upshot was a bipartisan gerrymander aimed at protecting all incumbents and preserving the partisan status quo in both the Legislature and Congress, while ignoring dramatic demographic shifts, including a big surge in Latino population.

Independent Commission Created

Overt gerrymandering ended a decade later, after voters approved two initiatives — hated by leaders of both parties — to shift the decennial mapmaking to an independent commission that would ignore partisan considerations, draw districts to follow, where possible, city and county boundaries and preserve “communities of interest.”

On the whole, the commission was faithful to its mission, but nevertheless, Democrats made big gains in congressional and legislative seats — eventually winning three-fourths of both as GOP voter strengthen plummeted.

With data from a new census — much delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic — a new commission is working on new maps under a very tight deadline. It’s been a rather messy process — a “hot mess,” in the recent words of one commission member. Drafts of the new maps were released last week and it’s apparent that they are likely to change quite a bit before the Dec. 27 deadline.

That said, it’s obvious that Democrats will retain their overwhelming legislative and congressional supermajorities and could gain a few more seats simply because demographic trends continue to run their way.

Most of the uncertainty is in the 52 congressional districts — one fewer than before due to California’s slow population growth. Democrats are struggling to retain their paper-thin control of Congress, and a handful of toss-up seats in California could be the difference.

However, until the final maps are filed six weeks hence, no one can truly predict who will survive and whose careers will end.

About the Author

Dan Walters has been a journalist for nearly 60 years, spending all but a few of them working for California newspapers. He now writes for CalMatters, a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters.  For more columns by Dan Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

House Republicans Say They Expect to Vote Tonight on Trump’s Tax-Cut Bill

DON'T MISS

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to 8,300 Acres, Prompts Evacuations

DON'T MISS

SLO Deputies Fatally Shoot Man in Los Osos Weeks After US Marshal Impersonation Arrest

DON'T MISS

Madera County Deputy Injured, Wanted Felon Arrested After Violent Struggle

DON'T MISS

San Luis Obispo County Wildfire Burns More Than 3,000 Acres. No Containment Yet

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: Why Is State Lawmaker Taking Aim at Rooftop Solar?

DON'T MISS

Two Visalia Men Sentenced in 2021 Motel Killing

DON'T MISS

Ex-Jan. 6 Defendant Gets Life in Prison for Plot to Kill FBI Agents

DON'T MISS

Del Monte Files for Bankruptcy. Gets Nearly $1B to Keep Producing Through Process

DON'T MISS

Who is Running for Fresno Area Offices in 2026? An Updated Look

UP NEXT

Dear Mayor and City Council, Fresno’s Housing Bottlenecks Are a Modern Form of Redlining

UP NEXT

A Path Forward on Immigration Reform That Strengthens America

UP NEXT

Israel Faces Genocide Accusations Amid Gaza Food Aid Killings

UP NEXT

I Detest Netanyahu, but on Some Things He’s Actually Right

UP NEXT

Much of LA’s Community of Immigrants Is Hiding, Leaving a Hole in the Fabric of the City

UP NEXT

Things Netanyahu Might Say if Injected With Truth Serum

UP NEXT

California Politicians Ignore Ag’s Troubles, but Boost Movie Business

UP NEXT

Trump’s Courageous and Correct Decision to Bomb Iran

UP NEXT

How the Attacks on Iran Are Part of a Much Bigger Global Struggle

UP NEXT

Groceries Are Now a Luxury. So Is Breathing.

Madera County Deputy Injured, Wanted Felon Arrested After Violent Struggle

8 hours ago

San Luis Obispo County Wildfire Burns More Than 3,000 Acres. No Containment Yet

8 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: Why Is State Lawmaker Taking Aim at Rooftop Solar?

9 hours ago

Two Visalia Men Sentenced in 2021 Motel Killing

9 hours ago

Ex-Jan. 6 Defendant Gets Life in Prison for Plot to Kill FBI Agents

9 hours ago

Del Monte Files for Bankruptcy. Gets Nearly $1B to Keep Producing Through Process

10 hours ago

Who is Running for Fresno Area Offices in 2026? An Updated Look

10 hours ago

CIA Review Finds Flaws but Does Not Dispute Finding Putin Sought to Sway 2016 Vote to Trump

10 hours ago

Poorest Americans Dealt Biggest Blow Under Senate Republican Tax Package

10 hours ago

Check Out Newest Downtown Mural. It’s a Spectacular Tribute to Fresno Artisans

11 hours ago

House Republicans Say They Expect to Vote Tonight on Trump’s Tax-Cut Bill

WASHINGTON – Republicans in the House of Representatives on Wednesday struggled to pass President Donald Trump’s massive tax-cut...

7 hours ago

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks to the press, as Republican lawmakers struggle to pass U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 2, 2025. (Reuters/Annabelle Gordon)
7 hours ago

House Republicans Say They Expect to Vote Tonight on Trump’s Tax-Cut Bill

The Madre Fire in San Luis Obispo County has rapidly expanded to 8,396 acres with no containment, prompting evacuation orders and warnings near New Cuyama. (CalFire)
8 hours ago

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to 8,300 Acres, Prompts Evacuations

Andrew Biscay, 40, was arrested Friday, June 20, 2025, after deputies found him with a fake U.S. Marshal’s badge, homemade firearm, and law enforcement-style gear during a warrant arrest. (Madera County SO)
8 hours ago

SLO Deputies Fatally Shoot Man in Los Osos Weeks After US Marshal Impersonation Arrest

On Tuesday, July 1, 2025, a Madera County sheriff’s deputy was injured while trying to arrest a wanted felon, Felix Adrian Nucamendi Carrasco, 40, who later fled and was captured near Raymond Road. (Madera County SO)
8 hours ago

Madera County Deputy Injured, Wanted Felon Arrested After Violent Struggle

A wildfire dubbed the Madre Fire has burned over 3,300 acres near New Cuyama with 0% containment, officials said Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (CalFire)
8 hours ago

San Luis Obispo County Wildfire Burns More Than 3,000 Acres. No Containment Yet

9 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: Why Is State Lawmaker Taking Aim at Rooftop Solar?

Jose Luna (left), 33, and Ralph Grajeda, 45, both of Visalia, have been sentenced for their roles in the 2020 shotgun killing of Robert Soto at a local motel. (Tulare County DA)
9 hours ago

Two Visalia Men Sentenced in 2021 Motel Killing

A U.S. Justice Department logo or seal showing Justice Department headquarters, known as "Main Justice," is seen behind the podium in the Department's headquarters briefing room before a news conference with the Attorney General in Washington, January 24, 2023. (Reuters File)
9 hours ago

Ex-Jan. 6 Defendant Gets Life in Prison for Plot to Kill FBI Agents

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend