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In 2019, California passed Assembly Bill 849, also known as the Fair and Inclusive Redistricting for Municipalities and Political Subdivisions (FAIR MAPS) Act. This act aims to increase community input in the local redistricting process by requiring cities and counties to engage their communities in the redistricting process using public forums, community hearings, websites and general public outreach.
Through their collaboration with National Demographics Corporation (NDC) and a public outreach firm, the City of Anaheim navigated the FAIR MAPS Act with months of extensive outreach and community meetings. In its final decision meetings, the City Council took into account an abundance of community feedback, ultimately adopting a map drawn by a community member (Public Map 114) in March 2022.
“Anaheim’s success shows that publicly drawn maps can make a strong impact on the redistricting process,” said NDC Vice President Dr. Justin Levitt. “Our mission as a company continues to be redrawing districts without political bias while taking both Census data and client directions into account. The extensive requirements of the FAIR MAPS Act generally encapsulate what our clients, like Anaheim, were already doing to engage their residents and successfully complete the redistricting process.”
At a public hearing held on January 25, 2022, the Anaheim City Council narrowed the pool of maps to four distinct maps, most of which were drawn by residents. Although, the City Council also asked Dr. Levitt, serving as the City’s demographer, to create revised maps incorporating requests made by the public and City Council members in the public hearings.
“Justin and the team were unbelievably knowledgeable about the California redistricting requirements and process,” noted City of Anaheim City Clerk Theresa Bass. “They have a deep knowledge of the intricacies of the law, and the public mapping tools NDC provided were well received by the Anaheim community. This made the entire process more engaging and cooperative between the community and the Council.”
