Nesting (voting districts)
Encyclopedia
Nesting is the delimitation of voting districts for one elected body in order to define the voting districts for another body. For example, in California
, the State Assembly
(the lower house
) is composed of 80 members, each one representing 1/80th of California's population, and the State Senate
(the upper house
) is composed of 40 members, each one representing 1/40th of California's population. In this case, the process of nesting could either be first defining the 80 Assembly districts, and then defining the Senate districts as a merge of two Assembly districts, or first defining the 40 Senate districts, and then creating the Assembly districts by splitting each Senate district into two. If the Assembly districts and the Senate districts are created independently of each other, then the process of nesting is not used.
The major concerns of nesting are:
in 2008, the Citizens Redistricting Commission
, which is a commission established to redistrict the State legislative boundaries is required to employ nesting in crafting Assembly and State Senate districts.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, the State Assembly
California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...
(the lower house
Lower house
A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...
) is composed of 80 members, each one representing 1/80th of California's population, and the State Senate
California State Senate
The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. There are 40 state senators. The state legislature meets in the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Lieutenant Governor is the ex officio President of the Senate and may break a tied vote...
(the upper house
Upper house
An upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :...
) is composed of 40 members, each one representing 1/40th of California's population. In this case, the process of nesting could either be first defining the 80 Assembly districts, and then defining the Senate districts as a merge of two Assembly districts, or first defining the 40 Senate districts, and then creating the Assembly districts by splitting each Senate district into two. If the Assembly districts and the Senate districts are created independently of each other, then the process of nesting is not used.
The major concerns of nesting are:
- the practice may impede the creation of majority-minority districtMajority-minority districtA majority-minority district is a United States congressional district in which the majority of the constituents in the district are racial or ethnic minorities . Whether a district is majority-minority is usually decided by United States Census data.Majority-minority districts are often the result...
s - the practice may cause cities or other communities with common concerns to be split into different voting districts (and therefore dilute their votes)
California
Following the passage of Proposition 11California Proposition 11 (2008)
Proposition 11 of 2008 was a law enacted by California voters that placed the power to draw electoral boundaries for State Assembly and State Senate districts in a Citizens Redistricting Commission, as opposed to the State Legislature. To do this the Act amended both the Constitution of California...
in 2008, the Citizens Redistricting Commission
Citizens Redistricting Commission
The Citizens Redistricting Commission is the redistricting organization for the state of California. It is responsible for determining the boundaries for the Senate, Assembly, and Board of Equalization districts in the state. The 14-member commission consists of five Democrats, five Republicans,...
, which is a commission established to redistrict the State legislative boundaries is required to employ nesting in crafting Assembly and State Senate districts.
External links
- The Implications of Nesting in California Redistricting an August 2007 UC Berkeley study by Bruce E. Cain and Karin Mac Donald