1. Gerrymandering generally refers to the drawing of district lines by who will benefit from the way the districts are drawn. One of the reasons that California citizens voted in 2008 and 2010 to give the job of redistricting to an independent citizens’ commission was to eliminate gerrymandering.
2. The 2010 California Citizens Redistricting Commission followed the same rules – established in California’s state constitution – that the 2020 Commission will be following.
   -Districts must be of nearly equal population to comply with the U.S. Constitution.
   -Districts must comply with the Voting Rights Act to ensure that minorities have a fair opportunity to elect representatives of their choice.
   -Districts must be drawn contiguously, so that all parts of the district are connected to each other.
   -Districts must minimize the division of cities, counties, neighborhoods and communities of interest to the extent possible.
   -Districts should be geographically compact such that nearby areas of population are not bypassed for more distant populations.
   -Where practicable, districts should be nested (be made up of complete and adjacent districts for another elected office)
3. Further, the Commission cannot consider the place of residence of any incumbent or political candidate in the creation of a map, and the districts may not be drawn for the purpose of favoring or discriminating against an incumbent, political candidate, or political party.
4. If you would like to review the 2010 Commission’s explanation of each district’s lines, please visit https://wedrawthelines.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/64/2011/08/crc_20110815_2final_report.pdf.

Help us draw the best possible districts by participating in our Community of Interest input meetings (see the schedule at WeDrawTheLinesCA.org/meetings) or by sharing your Community of Interest input through our online tool at DrawMyCACommunity.org