Redistricting in Orange County is officially out of politicians’ hands under a new California law.
Gov. Gavin Newsom this year signed into law a slate of redistricting bills, including legislation by Anaheim Assemblymember Avelino Valencia, which will create an independent commission charged with changing the boundary lines for the OC Board of Supervisors.
Redistricting, the changing of those boundaries, occurs every 10 years after the census to better reflect changes in population and demographics.
The law strips the supervisors’ power to pick new maps, as they had done in previous redistricting cycles.
“Elected officials deciding the boundaries of the districts they represent opens the door to potential bias in the redistricting process,” said Valencia, who is serving his first term in the legislature. “We need to be proactive in establishing an electoral system that ensures transparency, fairness and equity, which are fundamental to democracy.”
Under the new law, the commission must be established by Dec. 31, 2030, and must be formed again following each census. The commission will review the population and demographic data within Orange County provided by the census and will then draw district maps for the Board of Supervisors, said Valencia.
For future OC redistricting plans, new Assemblymember wants an independent commission
“The commission’s primary objective is to ensure that voters have a central role in overseeing redistricting proceedings,” he said. “My goal with AB 34 is to take a step toward an independent redistricting process free of elected officials’ conflict or bias.”
Aside from the hard deadline to establish the initial commission, there is not yet a concrete timeline to consider and appoint commissioners, Valencia said.
“The law is intentionally not prescriptive to give the county election officials flexibility as to what works best for them,” he said.
It will be up to the Orange County Registrar of…
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