- Federal Laws
- Equal Population (based on total population of residents as determined by the most recent Federal decennial Census and adjusted by the State to reassign incarcerated persons to the last known place of residence)
- Federal Voting Rights Act
- No Racial Gerrymandering
- California Criteria for Cities (to the extent practicable and in the following order of priority)
- Districts shall be geographically contiguous (Areas that meet only at the points of adjoining corners are not contiguous. Areas that are separated by water and not connected by a bridge, tunnel, or ferry service are not contiguous.)
- Districts shall not divide neighborhoods and “communities of interest” (Socio-economic geographic areas that should be kept together for purposes of effective and fair representation)
- Districts shall have easily identifiable boundaries
- Districts shall be compact (Districts shall not bypass a nearby population to get to a more distant population)
- Districts shall not be drawn to favor or discriminate against a political party.
- Other Traditional Redistricting Principles
- Minimize voters shifted to different election years
- Respect voters’ choices / continuity in office
- Account for future population growth
- Preserve the core of existing districts
