Redistricting in California
2005 Special Election Initiative
Proposition 77 (Nov. 2005 special election ballot).
Efforts to to change Califiornia's redistricting process continued apace after legislative districts were redrawn in 2001. These efforts culminated mid-decade in Proposition 77, a proposal to give redistricting authority to a panel of retired judges.
The Library's Hot Topic on Propositon 77 provides an overview of the measure and other reform proposals, and includes includes links to reports, official voter information, public opinion polls and news stories.
2001 Redistricting
The 2001 redistricting plan was enacted in two separate bills: AB632, covering Senate and Congressional districts, and SB802, covering Assembly and Board of Equalization districts. The bills passed the legislature September 13, 2001, and were signed by the governor September 26, 2001.
Prior proposed plans are available at the Assembly Elections, Reapportionment, and Constitutional Amendments Committee website.
Online statistical profiles and high and low resolution district maps are available at the Assembly and Senate websites:
Assembly Districts (SB 802), Sept. 13, 2001.
Senate Districts (AB632), Sept. 8, 20001.
California Congressional Districts (AB632), Sept. 12, 2001.
Board of Equalization Districts (SB 802), Sept. 13, 2001.
Individual Maps of the California Election Districts. Sacramento: Capitol Enquiry, 2002.
Detailed maps in binder.
[Print. IGSL reference collection. Call no.: 2002 0671.]
District Profiles of the California Election Districts. Sacramento: Capitol Enquiry, 2002.
Includes maps, demographic information and registration/voting data.
[Print. IGSL reference collection. IGSL call no.: 2002 0447.]
California Journal's Legislative District Maps. Sacramento: California Journal, 2002.
Issued as a special section of of January 2002 California Journal.
Statewide maps with insets for the San Francisco and Los Angeles metropolitan regions.
[Print. IGSL Reference collection. IGSL call no.: 2001 0925.]
1990 Court-Ordered Redistricting
Report and Recommendations of the Special Masters on Reapportionment, 1991.
Archive of Background Materials Used in the Deliberations of the 1990 Special Masters.
[Housed at the IGS Library and described in this Finding aid.]
Online maps from the Statewide Database, with brief district descriptions provided by the California Journal: Assembly | Senate | Congressional districts.
California 1992 Court-Ordered Reapportionment Maps. (Sacramento: Secretary of State), 1992.
Assembly Districts. [Print. IGSL call no.: f 92 00633]
Senate Districts. [Print. IGSL call no.: f 92 00636]
Congressional Districts. IGSL call no.: f 92 00635]
California District Maps, 1992-2001. Sacramento: Capitol Enquiry, 1992.
Detailed maps in binder.
[Print. IGSL call no.: 93 01738].
California Journal's Legislative District Maps of California. Sacramento: California Journal, 1992?
Statewide maps with insets for the San Francisco and Los Angeles metropolitan regions.
[Print. IGSL call no.: 92 00401.]
1980 Redistricting
An overview of 1980s redistricting, with citations to maps and reports.
1970 Court-Ordered Redistricting
Report and Recommendations of the Special Masters on Reapportionment, 1973.
[Print. IGSL call no.: JK2462 S9s.r]
Archive of Background Materials Used in the Deliberations of the 1970 Special Masters.
[Housed at the IGS Library and described in this Finding Aid.]
California Legislative & Congressional Districts for 1974-1980: Official Maps, Descriptions and Statistics. Claremont, Calif.: Center for California Public Affairs, 1974.
[Print. IGSL call no.: JK400:R3 C2cp.Cle.]
Selected Internet Sites on Redistricting
These sites may prove helpful in tracking current developments and issues. Some nationally focused sites include state-by-state analyses.
- National Conference of State Legislatures
- The NCSL redistricting pages are a key resource for redistricting information.
- California State Assembly. Committee on Elections, Redistricting, and Constitutional Amendments
- The Assembly committee responsible for redistricting.
- California State Senate. Committee on Elections and Reapportionment
- The Senate committee responsible for redistricting.
- Census Redistricting Data Program (U.S. Census Bureau)
- Program to align Census Bureau definitions of small geographic areas with voting precincts.
- Center for Governmental Studies
- Focuses on analyzing current California redistricting practices and proposed reform measures.
- Center for Voting and Democracy
- Summarizes the current redistricting process in each state, and advocates a plan for multi-seat congressional districts.
- Congressional Redistricting (Almanac of American Politics 2002)
- State-by-state political analysis of congressional redistricting from the online version of National Journal Group's Almanac of American Politics.
Historical Background on Redistricting
Allen, Don A.
Legislative Sourcebook: the California Legislature and Reapportionment, 1949-1965. Sacramento, Calif.: Assembly of the State of California, 1965. [IGSL call no.: JK2464 A8.A5sb]
Note especially Table II-H, which has two parts:
"California Legislative Districts and Counties Included Therein, 1849-1965," p. 79-101.
"Historical Maps of Senatorial and Assembly Districts, 1850-1965; and Congressional Districts, 1891-1965," p. 103-151.
Johnson, Douglas.
Competitive Districts in California: A Case Study of California's Redistricting in the 1990s. Claremont, Calif: Rose Institute of State and Local Government at Claremont McKenna College, Feb. 21, 2005.
Kousser, J. Morgan.
"Reapportionment Wars: Party, Race, and Redistricting in California, 1971-1992." In Race and Redistricting in the 1990s, edited by Bernard Grofman, 134-190. New York: Agathon Press, 1998. [IGSL call no.: 99 00006]
"Redistricting: California, 1971-2001." In Governing California: Politics, Government and Public Policy in the Golden State, edited by Gerald C. Lubenow and Bruce E. Cain, 137-155. Berkeley, Calif.: Institute of Governmental Studies Press, University of California, 1997.[IGSL call no.: 97 00960]
Quinn, T. Anthony.
"California." In Reapportionment Politics: the History of Redistricting in the 50 States, edited by Leory Hardy, Alan Heslop, and Stuart Anderson, 53-57. Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1981. [IGSL call no.: 81 02615]
Carving up California: a History of Redistricting, 1951-1984. Claremont, Calif.: Rose Institute of State and Local Government, Claremont McKenna College, 1988.[IGSL call no.: 92 00373]
Santillan, Richard.
California Reapportionment and the Chicano Community: an Historical Overview, 1960-1980. Claremont, Calif.: Rose Institute of State and Local Government, Claremont Men's College, 1980.[IGSL call no.: 81 01454]
Wilkening, David Lester.
"Political History of California State Legislative Reapportionment, 1849-1977." Master's thesis, California State University, Sacramento, 1977. [Available at the California State Library, Sacramento. Call no.: JK8768.W5]