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Vote YES on Prop 40 This November
The League of Women Voters of California has worked for reform of the redistricting process since the late 1980s and has supported a number of legislative measures and ballot initiatives to achieve this. The most significant is Proposition 11, passed in 2008, which established an independent redistricting commission for California. We have defended the reform against a number of attacks since then.
Over the past four years, California voters have put in place redistricting reforms that have changed the way California legislative districts and Congressional districts are drawn. Proposition 11, Proposition 20 and Proposition 27 created, extended and upheld the duties of the independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, putting an end to politicians drawing their own legislative districts and instead giving the authority for redistricting to the independent commission.
With these reforms in place, politicians are no longer allowed to draw their own district lines to virtually guarantee reelection. Instead, the independent Citizens Redistricting Commission draws fair lines and the politicians are held accountable to voters; they must work for votes and respond to constituent needs.
These redistricting reforms have put an end to political backroom deals by ensuring the process is transparent and open to the public.
However, a small group of politicians were unhappy with the state Senate maps that were drawn by the commission. Seeking to overturn those maps, they qualified Proposition 40, a referendum for the November 2012 ballot. But due to a state Supreme Court ruling that said the maps comply with all requirements and ordered them to be used for 2012 elections, those politicians have abandoned their campaign and are not asking voters to vote No on the maps.
The problem is that the measure cannot be removed from the ballot. If the maps are to be retained, Proposition 40 must pass. We urge all Californians to support the work of the Citizens Redistricting Commission and Vote YES on Prop 40.
Sample Letter to the Editor
Note: Please adapt this letter to your own community and check your local paper’s word limit for a published letter.
Editor:
Proposition 40 deserves our YES vote on November 6.
Over the past four years, California voters have reformed the way California legislative and Congressional districts are drawn. Propositions 11, 20 and 27 created, extended and upheld the duties of the independent Citizens Redistricting Commission.
With these reforms in place, politicians can no longer draw their own district lines that virtually guarantee reelection. Instead, an independent citizens commission draws fair lines and the politicians are held accountable to voters. They must work for votes and respond to constituent needs.
These redistricting reforms have put an end to political backroom deals by ensuring the process is transparent and open to the public.
A small group of politicians who were unhappy with the state Senate maps drawn by the Citizens Redistricting Commission qualified a referendum for November—Proposition 40. However, since the state Supreme Court ruled that the commission’s process and the maps were fair, they have abandoned their campaign and are no longer seeking a No vote on the maps.
The problem is that the measure cannot be removed from the ballot. We urge all voters to support the work of the Citizens Redistricting Commission and Vote YES on Prop 40.
Sincerely,
(name of president)
President
League of Women Voters of ________________
If you are not a League president or their designee, you are not authorized to sign letters to the editor in the name of the League. You are encouraged, however, to express your views as a Californian and you are welcome to cite that you agree with the League's position.
Sample Yes on Prop 40 Talk
In 2008, California voters passed Proposition 11, which created the independent Citizens Redistricting Commission. Prop 11 put an end to politicians drawing their own legislative districts that virtually guaranteed them reelection, and instead, gave it to the voter-approved independent commission.
In 2010, voters extended the redistricting reforms passed in 2008 so the voter-approved independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, instead of politicians, was charged with drawing California Congressional districts in addition to state legislative districts.
That same year, the voters also defeated Proposition 27, which would have eliminated the independent Citizens Redistricting Commission passed in 2008 and given the power back to politicians to draw their own legislative districts, thus guaranteeing them reelection.
The passage of Proposition 11 and Proposition 20 and the defeat of Proposition 27 created a fair redistricting process, which doesn’t involve Sacramento politicians!
The voter-approved reforms worked well. In 2011, the independent commission drew fair districts for state legislators and Congress, starting with the 2012 elections.
These redistricting reforms have put an end to political backroom deals by ensuring the process is transparent and open to the public and conducted by California citizens instead of the politicians.
With these reforms in place, politicians are no longer guaranteed reelection, they are held accountable to voters, and they have to work for our votes and respond to constituent needs.
A small group of politicians were unhappy with the results of the 2012 Senate maps that were drawn by the commission. They are attempting to have the maps redrawn in order to get back their non-competitive districts.
They have already failed in court. The California Supreme Court ruled unanimously:
“not only do the Commission-certified Senate districts appear to comply with all of the constitutionally mandated criteria set forth in California Constitution, article XXI, the Commission-certified Senate districts also are a product of what generally appears to have been an open, transparent and nonpartisan redistricting process as called for by the current provisions of article XXI.’’
This opinion, approved by all seven justices of the Supreme Court, was given in response to a lawsuit brought by the sponsor of Proposition 40. During the proceedings, every possible allegation of fault on the part of the Citizens Redistricting Commission, its deliberations, and the Senate map was argued at length, and the Court found the evidence lacking.
The bottom line: There is nothing illegal or unfair about the Senate districts we have now, which were drawn by the independent commission. Candidates for state Senate are already running in them. There is simply no reason to change them and every reason to have them continue.
Recently the movers of the referendum abandoned their campaign to overturn the maps. But because the measure can’t be removed from the ballot, it’s absolutely vital that we all vote YES on the measure. It must pass by a majority—50% plus one—of the votes.
A “yes” vote on Proposition 40 will preserve the excellent work of the commission and once again tell the politicians to “stay out of the redistricting process.” So join the League of Women Voters in protecting independent redistricting for California by voting YES on Prop 40.
