California chose to create an independent commission to redraw district lines ... taking it away from those same elected officials who benefit from redistricting. The old way was like the fox guarding the hen house! Voters were told that it would end the self-serving gerrymandering: secret plans hatched in the back rooms of the Capitol.
The hopeful result of this change will be that elections will be less predictable and more meaningful. The 140-member commission produced a report that would change the boundaries of the 153 congressional and legislative districts in California.
The new maps will create more ‘swing' districts – those districts which are winnable by either party. Geographically, the new maps shift the districts toward the fastest-growing interior regions of the state, as the census data predicted. They will result in more Latino and Asian-American office holders. Democrats would remain in control of both Houses in the Legislature but would not get a two-thirds majority.
An increase in ‘swing' districts would mean that right-wing Republicans and left-wing Democrats would no longer be assured of winning seats. Ideological rigidity will be a thing of the past. There will be, hopefully, a new block of moderates from both parties.
The impact is greatest on the state's 53 congressional districts because they were the ones who most benefited by the 2001 gerrymandering! With so many incumbents, 60-plus years old, the new maps will probably generate a large number of retirements. Guess who their replacements will be? Yes, state legislators. The domino effect of politics.