Thanks to once-in-a-decade redistricting, one in 10 Californians will be without a state senator for the next two years, while other residents will have two state senators.

Voting boundaries were redrawn in 2011, changing the constituencies for many of the 40 senate districts. Senatorial seats are up for grabs every four years, but the terms are staggered so that only half came up for a vote last November and the other half will be on the ballot in two years. All 80 Assembly seats are on the ballot every two years.

Many of the newly-drawn districts now overlap the old districts, thrusting 4 million citizens into limbo and leaving their representation in the senate as an informal agreement among senators to share constituent services.

In the 34th District, more than 300,000 people in the Long Beach area were temporarily added to the usual 1 million constituents, forming a mega district for state Senator Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana). The temporary dislocation will force elected officials to be involved in political issues they may have only a passing acquaintance with and venues they are unaccustomed to.    

Correa, who gained the most itinerant constituents statewide, told the Los Angeles Times he welcomed becoming familiar, if only temporarily, with the California Coastal Commission.  

The Senate Rules Committee approved assignments last week to allow informal representation of the no-senator areas, known as deferrals. Some areas of the state were more affected than others. Riverside County has 6% of the state’s population, but 10% of the deferrals and Orange County has 8% of the population and 18% of the deferrals.

Senate leaders shifted internal resources around, including staff, to help senators inheriting an additional load.  

Elections for odd-numbered districts were held in November, and the even-numbered districts will be on the ballot in 2014. The numbering of the districts was done by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission with the express purpose of minimizing deferrals and double-representation, but the dislocation was said to be worse this time than a decade ago.  

–Ken Broder

To Learn More:

Redistricting Leaves Some Without a State Senator (by Jim Miller, Riverside Press-Enterprise)

Redistricting Quirk Creates Imbalance (by Wyatt Buchanan. San Francisco Chronicle)

In Quirk, Some Voters Have Two State Senators, Others None (by Patrick McGreevy, Los Angeles Times)

Summary of 2012 Senate and Assembly Election Results and Redistricting Seat Changes (pdf)