Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the U.S. Census Bureau is behind in completing its mandate to complete the census on time, resulting in a six-month delay of its release to states.
Without this data, state and local electoral divisions cannot be adjusted to reflect the new population changes or comply with various state and federal voting laws. Those local agencies with boards elected at-large from throughout the entire jurisdiction are unaffected.
While the State of California was able to avail itself of a California Supreme Court decision pushing back deadlines for the state’s redistricting commission related to state offices, such as the State Assembly, State Senate, and Board of Equalization, this action does not apply to local agencies. Therefore, special districts with boards elected by-division, or by-district, may not have time to meet impending statutory deadlines unless further action is taken by the State Legislature.
Some special district principal acts, such as community service districts, recreation and park districts, and fire protection districts, have a November 1, 2021 deadline to reapportion their electoral division boundaries, if they have electoral divisions. Additionally, there may be other unique situations throughout the codes.
Given that the U.S. Census Bureau has recently stated that their target date for delivery of tabulated data is September 30, 2021, this leaves mere weeks to conduct a transparent and compliant redistricting process, rather than they many months afforded under normal conditions.
Special districts has are collectively governed by dozens of enabling acts and scores of special acts, as well as other code references that may point to their unique deadlines for redistricting. To resolve this dilemma, CSDA is working with the Office of State Senator Steve Glazer (D – Orinda) and the Senate Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments to point all special district election laws to an existing statute currently being used by some districts in the Elections Code (EC § 22000). This code section provides a flexible, over-arching solution by allowing for lines to be drawn up to 180 days prior to a general election.
CSDA successfully requested these amendments and will continue working with the author’s office on SB 594 (Glazer) to achieve this resolution while continuing to investigate other potential scenarios.
If your district or district type has a unique situation, an election in a month other than November (that requires redistricting) or has any other feedback about the proposed changes, please reach out to CSDA Legislative Representative Anthony Tannehill at anthonyt@csda.net.
Register Now to learn more on the topic at this year’s virtual Special Districts Legislative Days where Paul Mitchel, President, Redistricting Partners will be lead the breakout session:
Changing Districts in Changing Times: How redistricting, the CVRA, and emerging demographic trends will continue to influence the governance of special districts:
An expert redistricting consultant with decades of political experience will discuss one of the most timely and provocative topics facing governments in the year ahead. The presentation will cover redistricting for the State Legislature, U.S. Congress, and special districts, as well as the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) and the recent U.S. Census. Included will be insights on emerging demographic trends and what they mean
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