1. City of Vista 2017 Districting Draft Maps
April 29, 2017
Douglas Johnson, President
Justin Levitt, Vice-President
National Demographics Corporation (NDC)

2. Remaining Schedule Date Event April 29
Three Community Forums: Morris B. Vance Community Room, Rancho Buena Vista High, and Linda Rhoades Neighborhood Center
May 18 & May 30
Council Hearing “at which the public is invited to provide input regarding the content of the draft map or maps and the proposed sequence of elections”
June 13
2nd Council Hearing “at which the public is invited to provide input regarding the content of the draft map or maps and the proposed sequence of elections.”
Public Hearing on action item and Council votes to select a map, propose election sequencing, and introduce ordinance.
June 27
2nd reading and final adoption of ordinance
November 2018
First two districts hold elections (plus at-large Mayoral election)
November 2020
Remaining two districts hold elections
April 29, 2017

3. Election Systems “At Large” “From District” or “Residence” Districts
“By District”
Charter City variants: cumulative, limited, Ranked Choice, etc.
The California Voting Rights Act was written to specifically require by-district elections.
April 29, 2017

4. Why Districts? By-District Election At-Large Election
30 majority voters
20 opposition
voters
10 majority voters
At-Large Election
100 majority voters
20 opposition
voters
When one voting bloc significantly outnumbers another, the majority wins every at-large seat.
But if the smaller group is geographically concentrated, it can elect someone who shares their views to the Council or Board.
April 29, 2017

5. CVRA Impact Signed into law by Gov. Gray Davis in 2002
Suspended by Superior Court ruling in the Modesto case, but reinstated by appeals court in
Switched (or in the process of switching) as a result of CVRA:
At least 137 school districts
27 Community College Districts
47 cities
1 County Board of Supervisors
8 water and other special districts.
Key decisions & settlements
Only Palmdale has gone to trial on the merits (the city lost)
Key settlements:
Palmdale: $4.7 million
Modesto: $3 million
Anaheim: $1.1 million
Whittier: $1 million
Santa Barbara: $600,000
Tulare Hospital: $500,000
Madera Unified: about $170,000
Hanford Joint Union Schools: $118,000
Merced City: $42,000
Placentia: $20,000
April 29, 2017

6. Districting Rules and Goals
Federal Laws
Traditional Criteria
Equal Population
Federal Voting Rights Act
No Racial Gerrymandering
Communities of interest
Compact
Contiguous
Visible (Natural & man-made) boundaries
Respect for voters’ wishes and continuity in office (avoiding pairing that results in head to head contests)
Planned future growth
April 29, 2017

7. Demographic Summary
Each of the 4 districts needs about 23,500 people (the total population, 93,834, divided by the number of districts).
April 29, 2017

8. Latino Population Total Population Citizen Voting Age Population
Latinos are concentrated North and West of Vista Way, but a much larger share of total population than of citizen voting age population (CVAP).
There are no concentrations of other protected classes large enough to impact the drawing of district lines.
April 29, 2017

9. Defining Communities of Interest
“A Community of Interest (COI) is a neighborhood or community that would benefit from being maintained in a single district because of shared interests, views, or characteristics.”
Possible community feature/boundary definitions include:
School Attendance Areas
City borders
Natural neighborhood dividing lines, such as highway or major roads, rivers, canals, and/or hills
Areas around parks and other neighborhood landmarks
Common issues, neighborhood activities, or legislative/election concerns
Shared demographic characteristics
Such as similar levels of income, education, or linguistic isolation
Ancestry (Not race or ethnicity)
April 29, 2017

10. “Green” Draft
Drawn primarily based on compactness, neighborhoods, and, where possible, sharing borders with Vista Unified trustee areas.
Election Years:
2018: Districts A and D
2020: Districts B and C
50.3% of eligible voters in District A are Latino, as are 36% in District B (measured by CVAP).
April 29, 2017

11. “Purple” Draft
Drawn primarily based on neighborhoods, major roads and, where possible, sharing borders with Vista Unified trustee areas.
Election Years:
2018: Districts A and D
2020: Districts B and C
51% of eligible voters in District A are Latino, as are 35% in District B (measured by CVAP).
April 29, 2017

12. What do you like and dislike about Green and/or Purple
Discussion
What do you like and dislike about Green and/or Purple
April 29, 2017