Capitol Weekly Podcast

Mapmaker Paul Mitchell on California's emergency redistricting proposal


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Governor Newsom and Democratic allies announced Thursday that they will propose a constitutional amendment — The Election Rigging Response Act — to counter Texas and other Red states' mid-decade redistricting plans. Framing the proposal as a response to GOP efforts to Gerrymander and "rig" Texas’ elections next year in order to protect Republican control of congress, the proposal would replace California's current congressional district maps with new maps to be used in the 2026, 2028 and 2030 elections.  The California’s Citizens Redistricting Commission would resume mapmaking duties after the 2030 census.

Our guest today is California political data and redistricting whiz Paul Mitchell, who was tasked with coming up with the new maps just two weeks ago. Mitchell described the process of drawing the new maps, why the redistricting effort was necessary, and tells us which seats will see the most changes.

Plus-  Who Had the Worst Week in California Politics

:47 Redistricting

1:58 Podcast Schedule

3:31 Paul Mitchell and an intense two weeks

7:14 The opposition

8:16 "Can we do a 52 - zero map?"

9:42 "The Commission's work is the Gold Standard"

12:34 Comparison to other states' process

14:55 Kevin Kiley's proposal

16:44 Role of AI in redistricting

20:57 There is no perfect map

22:47 Which seats are in for a significant change?

23:35 "Young Kim gets a great district?"

26:15 "There are winners and losers"

28:35 It's not about the maps - it's about the fight against Trump

29:40 "It is a gross-looking district"

32:08 The polling

36:23 #WWCA

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Capitol Weekly Podcast theme is "Pickin' My Way" by Eddie Lang

"#WorstWeekCA" Beat provided by freebeats.io


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