The California Citizens Redistricting Commission released its first draft of Congressional, Legislative and Board of Equalization district maps on June 10. In addition to holding 11 public input hearings in June the Commission is seeking public testimony on the draft maps by e-mail, fax and mail.

The Commission needs to hear what the public thinks of the first Draft Maps. Do you think the Commission understood your testimony about your community of interest? Do you think we did not have enough testimony about your community of interest? Do you have a suggestion that would make your district better reflect the interests of its residents, for example by moving the boundaries to include (or exclude) certain areas?

It is essential that the Commission receives sufficient testimony from communities of interest in order to best draw the second draft of district maps.

At the public input hearings, depending on the number of people who wish to speak, the Commission Chair will announce the time available for each speaker. This has generally been two minutes.  Speaker numbers may be obtained one hour prior to the posted time of the hearing. The posted meeting time may not extend more than 2 hours beyond the original closing, subject to venue limitations and speaker demand. No speaker numbers will be given out after the end of the posted meeting time. Due to high speaker demand, it is possible that not all people who have been given numbers will have the opportunity to speak.

The public hearing schedule can be obtained at the Commission's website: http://www.wedrawthelines.crc.ca.gov/hearings.html.

Public testimony can also be submitted by e-mail at votersfirstact@crc.ca.gov, by fax at 916-651-5711, or by mail:

Citizens Redistricting Commission

901 P Street, Suite 154-A

Sacramento, CA  95814

If you need assistance to prepare your testimony, the following resources are available:

• California Redistricting Assistance Centers  The Redistricting Group at Berkeley Law (affiliated with the Statewide Database) has opened 6 sites in the following locations: San Diego, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Fresno, Sacramento and Berkeley, that will have computers with redistricting software available for use by the general public.
• ReDrawCA.org - access this free, online mapping platform that allows you to view current districts, CRC proposed districts, as well as other proposed districts.  ReDrawCA.org allows you to see the boundary lines, access key data for every district, and redraw the boundaries to explore other scenarios or to submit more convincing proposals to the Commission.