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The 2020 Census and Political Representation in California

By Eric McGhee, Sarah Bohn, Tess Thorman

If the 2020 Census does a poor job of counting traditionally undercounted populations and immigrant communities, the state could easily lose one of its 53 seats in the House of Representatives.

Report

Political Reform and Moderation in California’s Legislature: Did Electoral Reforms Make State Representatives More Moderate?

By Eric McGhee

California implemented several important election reforms at the start of this decade. Each was intended in part to promote more flexible, moderate decision-making among California’s elected officials in an era of increasingly acrimonious partisan conflict. This report looks at the moderating effect of three reforms: the shift of authority to draw legislative and congressional districts from the state legislature to an independent redistricting commission; the loosening of term limits for state legislators; and a highly open “top two” primary system.

blog post

The Gender Gap in California Politics

By Dean Bonner

Since 2014, support for Democratic candidates among female likely voters in California has surged. Will women voters make a pivotal difference in midterm elections?

blog post

Video: Assessing California’s Redistricting Commission

By Mary Severance

In a radical departure, California empowered an independent commission to create new electoral maps. A new PPIC report assesses the maps' fairness and competitiveness to both major political parties.

event

Assessing California’s Redistricting Commission

The creation of the Citizen Redistricting Commission (CRC) in 2008 marked a radical departure for California. Many expected the commission to be fairer to the two major parties and lead to more competitive elections. Has the first CRC plan met these expectations? PPIC researcher Eric McGhee will describe the measures he used to evaluate fairness and competitiveness—including his own measure, the “efficiency gap,” which is used in litigation currently before the Supreme Court—and outline his findings.

Report

Assessing California’s Redistricting Commission: Effects on Partisan Fairness and Competitiveness

By Eric McGhee

The creation of the Citizen Redistricting Commission (CRC) in 2008 was a radical departure from California’s previous redistricting process, which had been directed by the legislature with little public input and no official rationale. Many hoped that, in addition to meeting legally mandated representational and geographic goals, the CRC would produce electoral maps that were fair to the two major parties and more competitive than the maps that had been drawn by the legislature.

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