"Race and ethnicity are difficult in California, a state with no racial/ethnic majority – far from it. And Latinos, who suffered from the 2001 gerrymander that denied them fair representation, deserved additional seats as this commission has created. But over the last month the commission has made race and ethnicity almost the only factors in its line drawing, and the final product can be accurately called a racial gerrymander.
Often the commission went to ridiculous extremes in its racial line drawing. Libert Ontai, a San Diego commissioner, made it clear he would not vote for the Senate plan unless two San Diego Asian areas miles apart were placed in the same district. The result is an absurd Senate district that’s probably unconstitutional as a violation of compactness."
The Redistricting Commission's Primary Failure
Fox & Hounds Daily:
