Redistricting Commission Reveals Final Maps

A state redistricting commission approved its final maps for congressional and state legislative electoral districts on Friday, making it likely that they will become the voting districts until the next redistricting process in 10 years.

The final meeting of the California Citizens Redistricting Commission will be on August 15, according to the commission's spokesman Rob Wilcox. At that point, the commission will either vote to finalize the maps or reject them–there will be no further revisions before that deadline, Wilcox said (for more on the commission and its process read here).

That means that the maps that have been released (which can be viewed at right or on an interactive map here) will most likely be the next state districts. 

You can view the current changes from the original proposed districts, released on June 10.

It is the first time in California history that an independent citizens' commission has drawn district boundaries. The commission was created after voters in 2008 passed Proposition 11, the Voters First Act.

The commission is comprised of 14 members from various ethnic backgrounds and geographic locations. It includes five Democrats, five Republicans and four members who decline to state a party preference.

"When California voters created the Citizens Redistricting Commission, their hope was that an independent panel could and would draw fair district lines in a transparent process and end the partisan gerrymandering of the past," Commission Chairwoman Connie Galambos Malloy said during a press conference. "We as a commission are here to tell you that day is here."

Malloy said the commission tried to engage with the public and held 34 hearings and received more than 20,000 written comments.

"It was no secret as to how the commission drew the lines," Malloy said. "It was a completely open and transparent process."

That said, Malloy noted that the commission expected legal challenges to the maps and has retained its staff in case a legal defense is required in the coming weeks.