Referendum on State Redistricting: Decline to Sign
Posted by toni-s on:
Referendum on State Redistricting: Decline to Sign The League of Women Voters urges Californians not to sign petitions being circulated by groups challenging newly adopted state Senate district maps. A group calling themselves Fairness and Accountability in Redistricting is collecting signatures to force a referendum on the state Senate maps drawn by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission.
The League urges you to decline to sign the petition. Sponsors of the referendum will need to collect more than 500,000 voters' signatures in 90 days. This referendum petition, if signed by the required number of voters and filed with the Secretary of State, will (1) place the revised boundaries and prevent them from takingeffect unless approved the voters at the next statewide election and (2) require court-appointed officials to set interim boundaries in the next statewide election.
Thousands of hours of open meetings were involved in creating these maps and they should not be overturned by special interest groups. The simple reality is that the new redistricting maps reflect what has occurred in California for years the new plan erases the currentgerrymandering, which created some safe districts for Republicans and some safe districts for Democrats. Proposition 11 and 20 allowed a bipartisan, non-political approach to Congressional, State Senate, State Assembly and Board of Equalization redistricting based upon population shifts, the Voters' Rights Act and geographic integrity all spelled out in the Propositions.
Please note that the petition signature collectors must be accompanied by a "packet" of the maps that were drawn by the Redistricting Commission and which should be offered for viewing. Ironically, they are some of the easiest maps to read but we urge you "Decline to Sign" and tell your friends (sample letters and emails are available on the website: www.ca.lv.org. Also see www.wedrawthelines.org for more information.
