County, Cities Begin Map-Drawing Process to Set How Local Government Officials Are Elected
Redistricting will be based on data gained from the latest U.S. Census Bureau count, and residents are invited to get involved
The current map for the five Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors districts. (Santa Barbara County photo) By Jade Martinez-Pogue, Noozhawk Staff Writer | @MartinezPogue
July 24, 2021
| 7:05 p.m.
Every 10 years, local governments use new U.S. Census Bureau data to redraw district lines to reflect how local populations have changed since the last census count, and the new districts affect how government officials are elected for the next 10 years.
KCBX s Benjamin Purper reports.
For part two of our three-part series on redistricting on the Central Coast, we’re looking at how the process works in the City and County of Santa Barbara.
Redistricting is the process of redrawing district boundaries for things like House of Representatives seats, supervisorial districts, cities and more. It affects how and where we vote, and who we vote for.
Santa Barbara City and County both have independent redistricting commissions made up of citizens or sometimes, judges. They get input from the public before drawing maps, independent of elected leaders who might want the maps drawn to benefit them.
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By Kasey Bubnash
The 11 members of Santa Barbara County’s Citizens Independent Redistricting Commission have officially been chosen, and although the commission isn’t perfectly representative of the population that inhabits this county, it’s more diverse than when the selection process started.
FIRST FIVE
Laura Katz, William McClintock, Norman Bradley, Cary Gray, and Glenn Morris (left to right) were the first five members of the Santa Barbara County Citizens Independent Redistricting Commission.
FILE PHOTO COURTESY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY
At a meeting on Dec. 14, the first five commissioners, who were randomly selected for their positions in October through a lottery system, announced the applicants chosen to fill the commission’s six remaining seats, the conclusion of a months-long and controversial selection process.