What is Redistricting? 

Every ten years, public agencies use new data from the United States Census to redraw the district lines of elected representatives to reflect how local populations have changed. The Napa County Election Division will be participating in this process in 2021 along with other local public agencies. The parameters for this process are set through California's Fair Maps Act.

District lines must be adjusted to make sure each district has as equal a population as possible. Other criteria for consideration include the cohesiveness, contiguity, and compactness of the district territory, and addressing communities of interest.
 

Your Input is Important!

The district needs community input as they redraw the Trustee boundary areas. The first way you can participate is by developing a list of communities of interest (COI) that can be utilized in the process to redraw district lines. More information is available on the website, including step-by-step instructions.

Join a Public Meeting

Redistricting is the regular process of adjusting the lines of voting districts in accordance with population shifts. Each city with district-based elections is required to update (“redistrict”) the district boundaries every ten years, following the receipt of updated population data from each federal decennial census.  

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Why does Redistricting matter to me? 

As mentioned above, every ten years, local governments use new data from the Census to redraw their district lines to reflect how local populations have changed. Assembly Bill 849 (2019) requires cities and counties to engage communities in the Redistricting process by holding public hearings and/or community workshops and doing public outreach, including to non-English-speaking communities. 

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What is a Community of Interest (COI)?

A Community of Interest is a group of people that: share common social or economic interests, live in a geographically definable area, and should be included within a single district for purposes of effective and fair representation in future elections.

There are some communities of interest that are considered “protected classes” in that they have rights through state or federal civil rights or voting rights laws. Some examples of protected classes in districting would be ethnic and racial minorities such as a concentration of Latinx, Asian, or African American people. 

There are other potential COI that can also be considered in Redistricting, such as: senior citizens, college students, people who live in a particular neighborhood, or even people who share concerns such as parents with young children, bicycle enthusiasts, topic interest group, etc.

COI does not include relationships with political parties, incumbents, or political candidates.

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Redistricting Glossary 2021

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What You Can Do to Participate in the Process

Define your Community of Interest by completing the county online form or downloading a paper copy.

Community of Interest Online Form 

Community of Interest Download

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The community's input in the development of the redrawing voting districts is extremely important to the Redistricting process. A series of public hearings along with Community Workshops will be held to receive community input on the development of district boundaries. For more details regarding public hearings and community workshops, please visit the County of Napa Redistricting Schedule webpage for the most up-to-date information. 

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County of Napa

The Napa County Election Division is working with the Napa County Board of Education, the Napa Valley College, and the City of Napa to provide maximum opportunity for public engagement in this decennial process. Efforts at the state level by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CRC) as well as the Napa Valley Unified School District will also be occurring simultaneously. All Californians are welcome to "draw the lines" to help define the future of their communities.

County of Napa Information on Redistricting 

Napa Valley Unified School District

NVUSD is preparing for the 2021 School Board Trustee Area Boundary Redistricting process. 

All school districts in California with trustee areas must engage in “redistricting” every 10 years following the federal census (which took place in 2020). NVUSD Redistricting is a public process that will potentially adjust the lines of our Board of Education Trustee area boundaries in order to ensure that all trustee areas continue to have equal populations and follow all state and federal laws. The Napa County Election Division is working with NVUSD as well as other entities in our county who are going through their own redistricting process, including the City of Napa, Napa County Board of Education, and Napa Valley College. Please note that NVUSD has a different process, separate from other redistricting efforts. 

Napa Valley Unified School District Information on Redistricting

City of Napa

The City of Napa is asking for your help to draw new district boundaries for Councilmembers. The finalized maps that you will help us create will change how you elect your Councilmembers for the next ten years. For current maps click here.

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What do you consider the boundaries of your neighborhood? Your input is needed to redraw voting districts for Councilmembers, and one way you can participate is by assisting the City in developing a list of “communities of interest” or “COI” that can be utilized in the process to redraw district lines.

City of Napa Information on Redistricting

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View kick-off video. https://www.cityofnapa.org/1015/Resources