AJR 21: Redistricting: independent redistricting commissions.

WHEREAS, The right to fair and equal representation is a cornerstone of American democracy, yet partisan gerrymandering continues to undermine this principle by allowing elected officials to manipulate district boundaries to benefit their own political ambitions and to favor one political party over another; and

WHEREAS, Numerous studies and court cases have documented how partisan gerrymandering distorts electoral outcomes, unfairly protects incumbents, suppresses voter participation, and dilutes the political power of communities, particularly communities of color; and

WHEREAS, Some states, including California, have adopted nonpartisan independent redistricting commissions composed of citizens rather than politicians, which require maps to be adopted with bipartisan support; and

WHEREAS, Nonpartisan, independent redistricting commissions have produced more competitive and representative electoral maps, increased public trust, and enhanced fairness in our elections; and

WHEREAS, States without nonpartisan, independent redistricting commissions remain vulnerable to extreme gerrymandering, resulting in congressional and legislative districts that do not reflect the true political will of their voters; and

WHEREAS, A constitutional amendment is necessary to ensure that fair elections can be best engendered using the nonpartisan, independent redistricting commission model for drawing lines for congressional and legislative districts; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California respectfully urges the Congress of the United States to propose and send to the states for ratification a constitutional amendment that would require all states to adopt nonpartisan, independent redistricting commissions to draw congressional and legislative district lines and adopt maps for congressional and legislative districts with bipartisan support of the commission members; and be it further

Resolved, That such an amendment should establish minimum standards for commission independence, transparency, public input, and protection against racial or partisan bias in map-drawing; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States, and the author for appropriate distribution.