2021-10-12 Item 18 - Maribel Nunez

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BE-bwd AHL. ]SI AVE Riverside city council: Date: 10-12-21 Item No. 18 Re: Discussion Calendar Agenda: #18 Riverside County Redistricting Briefing presentation by Riverside County Executive Office - Review 2022 Redistricting Plan Dear Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem and City Council: My name is Maribel Nunez, Riverside City Ward 1 Resident and part of the Brown and Black Redistricting Alliance. I am writing a letter for today's Riverside city council meeting 10/12/21 Discussion Calendar Agenda #18. 1 have recommendations regarding the type of redistricting commission, type of process and what should be the top redistricting criteria. In the list below of the Riverside City Redistricting Staff report, where they reference 2012 redistricting criteria, it doesn't prioritize the Voting Rights Act. 1. Equalize the population count in each Ward within 10% (top to bottom) 2. Achieve +5% from optimal population per Ward 3. Comply with all applicable laws 4. Avoid disqualification of City Councilmembers during a term 5. Maintain continuity of existing Wards, to the extent possible 6. Draw Wards that are compact and contiguous 7. Use natural, geographic boundaries to the extent possible 8. Maintain cohesive neighborhoods and community interests, to the extent possible 9. Consider school districts and avoid dividing same, to the extent possible 10. Maintain income diversity within Wards, to the extent possible According to the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), All government entities must include required data, related to citizen voting age population (CVAP), and other relevant information required by state and federal law as part of city's district maps, in order to consider that data in preparing the draft maps. The Fair and Inclusive Redistricting for Municipalities and Political Subdivisions Act (FAIR MAPS Act), requires the city to comply with the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA), and, to the extent practicable, keep communities of interest together. The FAIR MAPS Act also requires cities to include with each draft map "information on the total population, citizenship voting age population, and racial and ethnic characteristics of the citizenship voting age population of each proposed supervisorial district. If city maps only include total population data and fail to disclose CVAP data for any of the proposed districts, then the city fails to comply and can risk litigation. Without the CVAP data, broken down by racial and ethnic demographics, the public cannot evaluate whether the proposed maps comply with Section 2 of the VRA. Further, federal law is clear that in