Prop 11: Is This For Real?

The Serene One and I finished filling out our ballots this weekend. This annual (or sometimes semi-annual) event is usually accompanied by pride, confusion, anger, disgust, despair and laughter.

We usually knock out a group of propositions and elected officials quickly. No anguish needed. We take our jobs as citizens seriously though, so then we head into the weeds and read through the propositions we don't know anything about.

The best one this year is Proposition 11's Redistricting proposal. Prop 11 supporters make claims that redistricting will make the state congress less partisan and better able to "do its job." I started reading the title and summary:

REDISTRICTING.
INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT AND STATUTE.

• Changes authority for establishing Assembly, Senate, and Board of Equalization district boundaries from elected representatives to 14 member commission.

Okay, so far, not too bad. Then I saw this diagram:


My first irreverent thought was: boy, if "most qualified" is appearing in "quotes," we are in trouble!! That aside, the text of the proposition says "subpools [of commission applicants] shall be created on the basis of relevant analytical skills, ability to be impartial, and appreciation for California's diverse demographics and geography." Okay...Not a lot of detail, but I guess I can go with that.

Then, I read: "State Auditor randomly draws first 8 commissioners from remaining names." Uh oh. I am not a big fan of "random" when it comes to state business. I know that the prop writers are trying to be fair, but this doesn't sound good.

Further down the chart, you can see the random commissioners get to choose 6 buddies.

Here's my worst case scenario thinking: only people with a lot of time on their hands or an obsession with redistricting are going to apply for the commission. That means the diversity for the commission will be down. Then, the drawing ends up (by chance) with some radical elements. The ability for legislators to check this is limited. You keep barreling down the chart and let the skewed board choose six friends. Result: a lot of time, money and effort and new districts that are not noticeably better than the old.

I don't know how much California is affected by gerrymandering, but there has got to be a better solution than this. You might have better luck having college teams redistrict the state in a three day competition.

No matter which way you vote, enjoy it. American women have had the right to vote for only 88 years. That's within a lifetime. Go forth and vote!