Redistricting is the redrawing or adjusting of district lines to ensure that legislative representation is fair and balanced. It is done every ten (10) years, after the census data is compiled, to account for population shifts and growth over the last decade. The purpose is to bring districts back into compliance with the one-person one-vote mandate of the Federal and State constitutions.
Every ten years, supervisorial districts must be redrawn so that each district is substantially equal in population. This process, called redistricting, is important in ensuring that each Board of Supervisors member represents about the same number of constituents. Redistricting is done using U.S. Census data, which is usually released around March 31 of the year after 2021 the Census is conducted, but is expected to be delayed until September 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For the County of San Luis Obispo, the redistricting process must be completed by December 15, 2021.
Districts shall not be drawn for purposes of favoring or discriminating against an incumbent, political candidate, or political party.