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KCBX s Benjamin Purper reports.
As part of KCBX s three-part series on redistricting on the Central Coast, we’re looking at how the process works in San Luis Obispo County.
Redistricting is the process of redrawing district boundaries. It affects who represents us in government, where we go to school and more. States, counties and other entities like school districts go through this process based on census data demographic information that comes from the census, which happens every 10 years.
In San Luis Obispo County, district lines are mostly drawn by county staff and then ultimately approved by the Board of Supervisors.
File Photo By Jayson Mellom
DRAWING QUICK LINES Delayed 2020 Census data is impacting state and local redistricting efforts this year, which is putting pressure on the 2022 primary election. Delays in the 2020 census are spilling into the nationwide redistricting process, which in turn is creating a time crunch for the 2022 elections. The U.S. s once-a-decade population survey, typically released to the states sometime between March and May the year after it s conducted, isn t expected to be ready this year until October, thanks to COVID-19 and other complications. That roughly six-month delay leaves states and localities with much less time to redraw their electoral district boundaries an already contentious process wrapped in political interests and implications. With a June 2022 primary election around the corner, simply extending the redistricting timeline is problematic, as it could postpone the election.