Advocacy

The League of Women Voters is nonpartisan—we do not support or oppose candidates or parties—but we do advocate on issues that affect voters and our communities. This page highlights the key issues we are currently working on.

Fair Maps, Fair Representation in San Mateo County

A proposal to change the County Charter to include an Independent Redistricting Commission is now under consideration. If approved by the Board of Supervisors (BoS), voters will decide on it this fall.

In the May 5 BoS meeting, four of the five supervisors supported an Independent Redistricting Commission. This is great news, but our work is not done yet. Next steps will be decided in the May 19 BoS meeting.

Mark Your Calendar: May 19 Board of Supervisors Meeting

We urge you to attend and help ensure the BoS moves toward creating a measure for voters to decide if an Independent Redistricting Commission should be created:

9:00 am Tuesday May 19
Board of Supervisors Chambers, 500 County Center, Redwood City

For remote attendance:

Zoom: https://smcgov.zoom.us/j/99083309132
Meeting ID: 990 8330 9132
Telephone:+1 669 900 6833
Enter the Webinar ID: 990 8330 9132, then press #

More information is located on the county website (click here)

Contact your Supervisor today and share your views:

Look up your county district here.
Access an email template here.
See the ACLU toolkit for more ideas

Why this matters

District lines determine how communities are represented in county government. An Independent Redistricting Commission would draw these maps based on objective criteria and without changes from the Board of Supervisors – helping reduce conflicts of interest and increase public trust.

The League of Women Voters supports fair, transparent, and nonpartisan redistricting, and favors independent commissions to help ensure maps are drawn without political bias.

Learn more about Redistricting and the Board of Supervisors

What does the Board of Supervisors do?
The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors sets local policy, approves budgets, and represents residents. The County has five supervisors.

What is redistricting?
Every 10 years district boundaries for electing the supervisors must be redrawn based on new census data. Redistricting is important because district lines determine who votes for which candidates and which communities are represented. State law requires districts to have equal population, respect communities, and follow clear geographic boundaries. Counties use different processes to draw maps. Maps may be drawn: by the Board, or by advisory, hybrid, or independent commissions.

Why an Independent Redistricting Commission?
A thoughtfully-designed independent redistricting commission reflects community diversity and operates through an open, transparent process with meaningful public participation. Independent redistricting commissions can:

• Reduce conflicts of interest by removing direct control from elected officials

• Increase transparency and public trust

• Encourage broader and more inclusive community participation

• Produce fairer, more representative, and more defensible district maps

What happened in 2021?
In 2021, San Mateo County used an advisory commission that proposed maps, but the Board of Supervisors ultimately selected and approved a different map, with relatively minor changes to the previous map. This means that functionally, district lines have not changed in 20 years.

What is being proposed?
The Charter Review Committee has recommended the County Charter be amended to create an Independent Redistricting Commission to draw district maps for Board of Supervisor districts. If approved by the Board, voters will decide whether to adopt this change in the November 2026 election.

Do you need more information?
A full report on the background for establishing an Independent Redistricting Commission in the County Charter is here.

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