Pass Area's New 'Neighbor' Could Be Temecula: Redistricting

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Redrawing Riverside County supervisorial district boundaries could go different ways, but no matter which redrawn map is adopted, District 5 — which includes Banning and Beaumont — will change.

In fact, the Pass Area could be redrawn to join the Southwest Riverside County cities of Murrieta and Temecula in District 3.

A final redistricting public hearing will be held Tuesday. The Board of Supervisors has reviewed and considered nearly 40 maps and held several prior public hearings. Through the process, it's come down to four maps, with one likely to be selected Dec. 7.

There are five supervisorial districts in Riverside County. Currently, District 5 is represented by Supervisor Jeff Hewitt. Here's what the current district map for Riverside County looks like:

The goal of the redistricting process is to divvy up the county population equally across the five districts. Today, that means approximately 483,637 residents per district. There are other considerations, including adhering to components of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which prohibit "racially polarized voting," mandating that communities of color not be divided up so as to lose their influence in elections.

According to 2020 Census figures, the county grew 10.4 percent over the last decade, with the population increasing from 2,189,641 in 2010 to 2,418,185 by 2020, a net change of 228,544. Under the county's balancing policy, three districts — 1, 2 and 4 — are in a deficit, while Districts 3 and 5 have surpluses.

State and federal law require that the districts remain contiguous, meaning no gerrymandering or broken lines to fit cities and unincorporated census-designated communities into pockets of one district or another.

The county's redistricting process began in mid-September with public hearings, and county Executive Office staff set a goal of Dec. 7 as the decision date on a final redrawn map, with the consent of the Board of Supervisors. On Tuesday, the board will consider the following final maps:

The draft map above is titled EOTC Hv7.2. If this map is adopted, District 5 will lose some area, including Whitewater, Perris, and parts of Moreno Valley.

The draft map above is titled EOTC Hv7.3 and appears nearly identical to EOTC Hv7.2. However, version 7.3 keeps the Greater Lake Mathews area together, including Gavilan Hills.

The draft map above is titled EOTC Fv5.1. If adopted, District 5 loses Menifee, Perris and Whitewater.

The draft map above is titled Community Map Draft 1.4 and it represents the biggest change for the San Gorgonio Pass Area. If adopted, the Pass Area will become part of District 3 that currently includes Murrieta and Temecula.

Redistricting is law. The U.S. Constitution requires a decennial Census. Following the Census, local political boundaries are redrawn, federal ones are also modified, impacting congressional representation. However, that job is left to a statewide committee. Cities decide for themselves how to redraw their maps.

Tuesday's public hearing on county redistricting will be held during the regularly scheduled Riverside County Board of Supervisors meeting that starts at 9:30 a.m. Residents can provide in-person or virtual input during the hearing. Find more information online. The hearing will be available live and on-demand at RivCoTV.org.

More details regarding countywide redistricting are available at rivco.org/about-county/county-boards-committees-and-commissions/county-redistricting-efforts.

—City News Service contributed to this report.