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San Mateo County voters are deciding in the Nov. 3 election on Measure U, a ballot measure that would establish an independent redistricting commission charged with drawing up the boundaries for the county’s five districts instead of the Board of Supervisors itself.
The county is divided between five supervisorial districts that change every 10 years based on population shifts after each federal census so that each supervisor represents about the same number of constituents. While the county used an advisory commission for the 2021 redrawing made up of residents that made suggestions on redrawing district maps, the board still has the final say over the district lines.
Measure U would instead give redistricting authority to an independent body.
District 1 Supervisor Jackie Speier, District 4 Supervisor Lisa Gauthier and the presidents of the League of Women Voters chapters in San Mateo County submitted an argument in support of Measure U. They argued that the supervisors’ decisions on district mapping could be made to serve a personal interest since they can ultimately decide the areas and populations they represent.
“The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors has final authority over district boundaries,” the argument reads. “But this is a self-interested group that has, most recently, overridden the recommendations of citizen members.”
In 2021 when maps were being redrawn, the board did not adopt the recommended maps drawn up by the citizen advisory commission. At the time, some members on the board saw flaws in the proposed maps, saying the district lines were unbalanced and could result in representation on the board that does not reflect the communities a supervisor would serve.
The board instead adopted a different map with minimal changes to the prior one.
Giving an independent redistricting commission the authority over district lines could eliminate any potential conflicts of interest, Measure U supporters say.
No ballot arguments opposing Measure U were submitted to the Elections Division.
Registered voters can submit their ballots until Election Day on Nov. 3. There are currently three vote centers open in the county. Additional centers will open on Saturday and Oct. 31, bringing the total to 50 vote centers.
A map of vote centers and ballot drop off locations across the county can be found at https://smcacre.gov/elections/vote-center-and-ballot-drop-box-lookup.
This story was written by Alise Maripuu for Bay City News.
