Redistricting 2021 FAQs

All cities with city council districts must engage in “redistricting” every 10 years following the decennial federal census in order to ensure that all districts continue to have equal populations and follow all state and federal laws. In 2017, the Murrieta City Council transitioned to a district-based voting system to elect its City Council Members, replacing its at-large election system. The City phased in the new district-based elections over two election cycles starting in November of 2018, with full implementation in 2020. The City of Murrieta must now ensure that no changes are needed in light of the new 2020 federal census data and must go through the regular decennial redistricting process.

The redistricting process timeline is prescribed by the California Election Code. Section 21627.1. This requires that Murrieta hold at least one public hearing before the Council draws a draft map or maps of the proposed council boundaries and at least two public hearings after the Council has drawn a draft map or maps of the proposed council boundaries. All public hearing buildings shall be accessible to persons with disabilities and live-interpretation from English to Spanish and Spanish to English shall be available upon request (at least 72 hours before the meeting). 

The hearings will be led by the demographer’s consulting team and are designed to be as accessible and transparent as possible. Generally, the hearings will have 3 phases. The consultant will begin with a presentation to give an overview of the process and the criteria. After that, there will be an opportunity for the public to ask the consultants clarifying questions, to view the map of the city, and talk to the consultants and other residents to prepare input. Finally, the hearings will resume to allow for formal public input to be presented by attendees. The consultants will be able to show the area that the input focuses on using mapping software and a projector. The consultants will use the public input in constructing the draft maps.

The first workshop (September 25, 2021) will provide training on the criteria and process for redistricting. At the second meeting (October 19, 2021), the Council will solicit public input on their communities of interest, and the redistricting consulting team will receive direction from the City Council. The third hearing (October 28, 2021) will focus on the drawing of the draft map with live and in-person public input. On November 1, 2021, the official draft map will be posted onto the website for feedback and comments. The fourth and fifth hearings (November 16 and December 7, 2021) are to receive feedback on the draft map. The finalized map will be voted on and adopted at the fifth hearing (December 7, 2021). 

How are the districts drawn?

Generally, the following criteria are used to redraw the council districts (California Elections Code. Section 21601):

• Each district should contain nearly the same number of people;
• Boundaries shall be drawn in a manner that complies with the United States Constitution and the Federal Voting Rights Act;
• Council districts shall consist of contiguous territory in as compact form as practicable;
• Districts shall follow visible features and boundaries when possible;
• Council districts shall respect communities of interest as much as practicable. Communities of Interest generally refers to a contiguous population which shares common social and economic interests that should be included within a single district for purposes of fair and effective representation;
• The demographer will disregard the location of incumbents and candidates, as well as the interests of political parties.

In summary, this means the following:

• We will use a mapping program to construct districts after public input has been received.
• Census data will be used to find out how many people live in each part of the city and ensure that each district contains roughly the same number of people.
• Census geography will be used to ensure that the districts are compact and contiguous
• We will collect and utilize Community of Interest data from the residents of Murrieta to use in the building of districts.
• We will not use any address information for current council members or potential candidates or use political party affiliation or information in the drawing of districts.

As counted by the 2020 Census, the City of Murrieta had a total population of 111,187. The decennial census is the only survey that counts everyone, so we have to use that data to draw districts. There will be five council districts. To figure out the ‘ideal population’ for each council district, take the total population and divide it by the number of districts (5) which equals 22,238 persons.

Districts are drawn using the total population as counted by the last census. Everyone who was counted, irrespective of age, residency status or other demographics has to be assigned to a district. Districts are not equalized using voters, registered voters or citizens.

One of the criteria to draw maps is called “Communities of Interest” or COI. Because there are no datasets available for Communities of Interest, we appreciate your help to define them for the City of Murrieta. A COI is a group of people in a defined geographic location that share a common bond or interest. A Community of Interest is defined as a “a contiguous population which shares common social and economic interests that should be included within a single district for purposes of fair and effective representation.” Please tell us what defines your Community of Interest, where it is located and why it should stay together.

Resources for Submitting COIs:

• Understanding the term “Communities of Interest”
• Murrieta Written COI Form
• How to Submit Your COI Online

We would like to hear from you so we can make informed decisions about where to draw district lines. Specifically, we need information from you about your neighborhoods and communities of interests. You are the expert who knows your community and neighborhood! If we know the geographic locations of the Communities of Interest in Murrieta, we can consider them when drawing lines and we won’t inadvertently split them! Keeping communities together in the same district can help to get more responsive representation.

If you have more questions, we are available to answer them!

• You can attend the community meeting or any of the City council hearings
• Or email your question to: [email protected] 
• Or mail your question to: Murrieta City Hall, 1 Town Square, Murrieta, CA 92562
• Or call us: (951) 461-6031