Written by Vincent Cain
Chaldeans have recently started pushing back against San Diego County’s redistricting of East County. They maintain that it divides cultures, causing their elected officials to misrepresent who actually lives there.
Redistricting is done every ten years, but this is the first time a citizen redistricting commission was in charge. Historically, the districts were drawn by the board of supervisors or other government entities. Still, some concerns about splitting up communities came true with the citizen commission in charge.
The redistricting did not cut off small portions of the Chaldean from each other. Instead, it was nearly right down the middle, which caused understandable outrage. But unfortunately, this left district four overpopulated and district two underpopulated and violated constitutional principles by not protecting communities of interest.
A group called Panna, which Black Lives Matter partially funds, advocated for a map that would bring all of El Cajon and Rancho San Diego into district four, providing a political advantage. This group provided a map to the commission, which the commission then used as a starting point.
The Chaldeans typically vote conservative, so splitting their community for a clear political motive into different districts to dilute their vote is unacceptable.
They are now asking for a court to correct these district redrawing before the June 2022 primary election. They say there is plenty of time for the county to make the fix, and it is relatively easy to do so as well. All they have to do is take the part of Rancho San Diego that was put in district four back into district two.
This redistricting violates the equal protection clause, the election code, and the California constitution.
Photo Cred: Fox 5 San Diego
