Drawing the (District) Lines in the Sand: What Prop. 20 Means for the South Asian Community

This month’s election results definitely represented progress for our community. We continue to vote in record numbers and we saw South Asians lead major parties in key state and congressional races. Nikki Haley now joins Bobby Jindal as the top executive of their states. In California, we saw Ami Bera provide a respectable showing in Northern California’s 3rd congressional district and Kamala Harris assume the mantle for our state’s top attorney as we wait for the official results. Of course, this is nothing new as South Asians are now commonplace in American politics. Whether occupying public profiles in the White House or assuming leadership roles for both major parties, we have certainly migrated from stereotypical professions. However, California’s election returns were not simply significant because we had more Hindu or Muslim sounding names on our ballot and won some tight races.

Californians overwhelmingly passed Proposition 20, removing politicians from the state and congressional redistricting process in California. As South Asians now represent a more vocal voting bloc, we should be proud of such developments. All candidates, including our own, seemingly ran this year pointing to partisanship and gridlock. They reflected upon the shared sacrifices of our earlier generations and wanted to contribute as public servants to address our biggest problems. We heard complaints that both Sacramento and Washington suffer from almost total paralysis. You could not miss hearing that our government is broken: officials are beholden to special interests and we are stuck as a state and nation in the quagmire of partisan gridlock. As South Asians have emerged on the political stage, it would be a shame to have our perceptions tainted and our leaders similarly fall victim to power politics informing this gridlock and partisanship.

That is why Proposition 20’s passage was pivotal for our community, our leaders, and the general public. Proposition 20 will redraw congressional districts based on a 14-member redistricting commission that was established as a result of the passage of Proposition 11 in 2008. The bi-partisan led commission will remove officials from the redistricting process. In the past, the legislature and the governor would determine district boundaries. Of course, these decisions reflected the interests of the political parties that held these branches. Lines could be drawn such that incumbents were favored. This resulted in districts that generate little competition amongst the political parties, entrenching officials in their seats and encouraging them to hold positions in which they have no reason to work together. Whereas many Democrats took advantage of this in our state, both parties have protected their interests depending on which party occupies the Governor’s Mansion or has a majority vote in our legislature. My own district, CA-11, fell victim to this process after the 2000 census, now dominated by a more conservative demographic. Californians voted for Proposition 20 in response.

While redistricting has its merits, South Asians should remain weary of it going on unfettered. We must make the process accountable to our needs. That is why we have guidelines for the commission to follow. Any redistricting initiative always must address the idea of one person-one vote. Obviously, we cannot have districts that yield more representation than their population merits. Additionally, we need to ensure the commission attend to our concerns and be consistent with federal law meant to preserve minority political clout. The commission should consider minority representation when drawing up new districts. Even in our current age, we share interests in reforming our immigration policies, improving opportunities for small business, and protecting religious freedoms. I am confident that the commission will take these views in consideration to preserve the potential representation in our districts as we grow as a community and reflect diverse beliefs.

I am also positive that South Asians will continue to pave paths into various fields in public service. In the limited time I have spent in the field, I see familiar faces occupy senior posts within major political offices and advocacy organizations spanning the ideological spectrum. And as we now vote increasingly for both parties, we should also be proud of the redistricting reforms brought by the Golden State. Common sense is beginning to prevail in which we are seeing a process where our government works more for us and is not stained by partisanship and inflexible governance. While there are many other concerns that plague our state governance, gerrymandering only compounds our problems. They say that California politics can largely shape the national mood on major issues. I hope this yields true not only for our community but also beyond as we need to steer away from a lawmaker power grab and hold all of our leaders accountable during these perilous times.