What is redistricting?
Every ten years, the Federal Government conducts a census to determine the number of individuals living in the United States. Following each decennial census, State law, Section 21500, requires that the Board of Supervisors adjust the boundaries of any or all of the supervisorial districts of the county so that “the districts shall be as nearly equal in population as may be”. In addition, proposed redistricting plans must comply with requirements of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution and with the mandate of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended, 42 USC § 1973, et seq., to assure fair and effective representation for racial and language-minority groups.
In establishing the boundaries of the districts, State law and the Alameda County Charter and Administrative Code state that the Board may give consideration to the following factors: (a) topography, (b) geography, (c) cohesiveness, contiguity, integrity, and compactness of territory, and (d) community of interests of the districts. The Administrative Code requires that at least one public meeting be held in each of the current five districts and that cities within a proposed district shall be maintained intact, insofar as possible.