Every ten years, local governments use new census data to redraw their district lines to reflect how local populations have changed. Assembly Bill 849 (2019), also known as The Fair and Inclusive Redistricting for Municipalities and Political Subdivisions (FAIR MAPS) Act, requires cities and counties to engage communities in the redistricting process by holding public hearings and/or workshops and doing public outreach, including to non-English-speaking communities.

Templates

Elections Code section 21508(j) of the FAIR MAPS Act requires the Secretary of State to:

  • Publish on the internet templates explaining the county and city redistricting processes.
  • The templates must be in all of the languages into which ballots are required to be translated in the state pursuant to Section 203 of the federal Voting Rights Act (VRA).
  • The templates shall be published in a conspicuous location on the Secretary of State’s internet website.

The Secretary of State has created four templates:

City Council Redistricting Template

City Redistricting Commission Template

County Board of Sups Redistricting Template

County Redistricting Commission Template

Languages Based on City

Elections Code section 21608(h) of the FAIR MAPS Act requires the Secretary of State to:

  • Before January 1, 2021, and before January 1 in every year ending in the number one thereafter, the Secretary of State shall post the applicable languages for each city in a conspicuous location on the Secretary of State’s internet website.
    • To determine the applicable languages for each city, in 2020 and in each year ending in the number zero thereafter, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Statewide Database, shall request a special tabulation from the United States Bureau of the Census of the most recent data on limited English proficiency from the bureau’s American Community Survey that satisfies this subdivision. If the bureau is unable to produce that data, the Secretary of State shall base the Secretary of State’s determination on the table from the American Community Survey enumerating the number of residents with limited English proficiency that has the largest number of languages included, that is publicly available, and that was produced within the previous ten years.
    • For purposes of this section, “applicable language” means any language that is spoken by a group of city residents with limited English proficiency who constitute 3 percent or more of the city’s total population over four years of age for whom language can be determined.
  • Language Requirements for City Redistricting (XLSX)
  • Language Requirements for City Redistricting (PDF)