Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions
What is redistricting?
All district lines must be reviewed to meet strict requirements for population equality, voting rights protections, and in accordance with the California FAIR MAPS Act.
Why does redistricting matter to me?
What do the existing City Council districts look like?
What criteria will our City Council use when drawing district lines?
- Federal Laws
• Equal Population (based on total population of residents as determined by the most recent Federal decennial Census and adjusted by the State to reassign incarcerated persons to the last known place of residence)
• Federal Voting Rights Act
• No Racial Gerrymandering - California Criteria for Cities (to the extent practicable and in the following order of priority)
• Geographically contiguous (areas that meet only at the points of adjoining corners are not contiguous. Areas that are separated by water and not connected by a bridge, tunnel, or ferry service are not contiguous.
• Undivided neighborhoods and “communities of interest” (Socio-economic geographic areas that should be kept together for purposes of its effective and fair representation)
• Easily identifiable boundaries
• Compact (Do not bypass one group of people to get to a more distant group of people)
• Prohibited: “Shall not favor or discriminate against a political party.” - Other Traditional Redistricting Principles
• Minimize voters shifted to different election years
• Respect voters’ choices / continuity in office
• Future population growth
• Preserving the core of existing districts
What are Communities of Interest?
Below are useful excerpts from the Local Government Redistricting Toolkit by Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus (2020).
Communities of interest are the overlapping sets of neighborhoods, networks, and groups that share interests, views, cultures, histories, languages, and values and whose boundaries can be identified on a map.
The following elements help define communities of interest:
- shared interests in schools, housing, community safety, transit, health conditions, land use, environmental conditions, and/or other issues;
- common social and civic networks, including churches, mosques, temples, homeowner associations, and community centers, and shared use of community spaces, like parks and shopping centers;
- racial and ethnic compositions, cultural identities, and households that predominantly speak a language other than English;
- similar socio-economic status, including but not limited to income, home-ownership, and education levels;
- shared political boundary lines from other jurisdictions, such as school districts, community college districts, and water districts.
How will our City Council notify the public about redistricting?
The City Council will reach out to local media to publicize the redistricting process. Also, we will make a good faith effort to notify community groups of various kinds about the redistricting process. Our public hearings will be provided in applicable languages if residents submit a request in advance to soneal@exetercityhall.com.
The City Council will notify the public about redistricting hearings, post maps online before adoption, and maintain this dedicated web page for all relevant information about the redistricting process.
What do the acronyms and categories mean on the demographic sheets?
NH: Non-Hispanic
VAP: Voting age population
CVAP: Citizen Voting Age Population
CVRA: California Voting Rights Act
FAIR MAPS Act: Fair And Inclusive Redistricting for Municipalities and Political Subdivisions
NDC: National Demographics Corporation (the firm hired to produce the maps and provide demographic data)
Do I have to submit a completed map?
Can I submit more than one map?
What happens to the drafted maps?
Where can I learn more about redistricting?
Have a Different Question?
Please send any questions, comments, and map suggestions to soneal@exetercityhall.com; or contact the City by phone at (559) 592-9244.