Redistricting in California: Its Effects on Voter Turnout in Minority Populations and Misrepresentation

• Main Author: Hernandez, Carlos A
• Format: Others
• Published: Scholarship @ Claremont 2011
• Subjects: Redistricting; Apportionment; California; Gerrymandering; Minority; Voter; Political Science
• Online Access: http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/122; http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1211&context=cmc_theses

This thesis analyzes the history behind reapportionment and how the task of redistricting has differed in the past decades. For the most part, there was always been a public outcry when the task was in the hands of the Legislature. Fear of political gerrymandering and the creation of safe districts was enough for people to pass a series of initiatives to try and correct the system. While many initiatives failed to pass, Proposition 11, passed in 2008, created the Citizen’s Redistricting Commission—a 14-member committee put in charge of drawing this years’ plans. This paper also looks at population trends in the past decade and takes into account the impact of the increase in Latinos in the state of California.