Communities and the Commission
“Redrawing the Maps: Redistricting, Race, and Representation in the Next Decade”
Nicholas O. StephanopoulosJanuary 28, 2012
California’s Community-of-Interest Criterion
Applies only to geographic communitieso “The geographic integrity of any . . . community of interest shall
be respected . . . .”o “A community of interest is a contiguous population . . . .”
Defines communities in objective termso “A community of interest is a . . . population which shares
common social and economic interests . . . .”o “Examples of such shared interests are those common to an
urban area, a rural area, an industrial area, or an agricultural area, and those common to areas in which the people share similar living standards, use the same transportation facilities, [or] have similar work opportunities . . . .”
Excludes political considerationso “Communities of interest shall not include relationships with
political parties, incumbents, or political candidates.”
Spatial Diversity Diagrams
High Spatial Diversity; Low Community Congruence
Medium Spatial Diversity; Medium Community Congruence
Low Spatial Diversity; High Community Congruence
Drivers of California Residential Patterns
SES St
atus /
Hispan
ic
Urban / S
uburban
Asian-Ameri
can
Exurban
Spraw
l
African
-American Age
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
Fiscal Views Social / Cultural Views
Gaming Views0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
American Community Survey Analysis Popular Initiative Analysis
California Plans’ Spatial Diversity Averages
American Community Survey Analysis Popular Initiative Analysis
Assembly Senate Congress0.68
0.7
0.72
0.74
0.76
0.78
0.8
OldNew
Assembly Senate Congress0.54
0.56
0.58
0.6
0.62
0.64
0.66
0.68
OldNew
California Plans’ Spatial Diversity Outliers
American Community Survey Analysis Popular Initiative Analysis
Assembly Senate Congress0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
OldNew
Assembly Senate Congress0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
OldNew
California Versus Its Peers (Congress; ACS Data)
New York
Virginia
Vermont (A-L)
Wisconsin
Maine
Illinois
Wyoming (A-L)
Nebraska
MinnesotaArkansas
West Virginia
PennsylvaniaKansas
New HampshireKentucky
North Dakota (A-L)Montana (A-L)South Dakota (A-L)
Tennessee
Washington
Mississippi
Maryland
Delaware (A-L)
Michigan
Missouri
Georgia
Indiana
North CarolinaIdaho
Oklahoma
Arizona
California (Old)
Alaska (A-L)
OregonSouth Carolina
Colorado
New Jersey
Ohio
Iowa
AlabamaUtah
Massachusetts
Florida
Louisiana
New MexicoConnecticut
Rhode IslandNevadaTexas
Hawaii.5
.6.7
.8.9
Act
ual S
patia
l Div
ersi
ty A
vera
ge
.5 .6 .7 .8 .9Predicted Spatial Diversity Average
Improvement Example 1 (Congress; Socio-Economic Status)
Improvement Example 2 (House; Asian-American Population)
No Improvement Example 1 (Senate; Socio-Economic Status)
No Improvement Example 2 (Congress; African-American Population)