Draft:California Statewide Database

The Statewide Database (SWDB) is the official redistricting database for the State of california. The SWDB was created by the California State Legislature in 1993 as the legally mandated data source for statewide redistricting. With the passage of the FAIR MAPS Act in 2019, the SWDB became the mandated data source for city and county level redistricting as well. The redistricting database is a free public resource. SWDB’s redistricting database includes the following datasets:


 * United States Census Bureau; Decennial Census P.L. 94-171, tables P2, P4, and P5
 * U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, Citizen Voting Age Population (CVAP)
 * Statement of Vote from statewide elections; provided by County Elections Departments
 * Statement of Registration from statewide elections; provided by County Elections Departments
 * Precinct data and geography; provided by County Elections Departments

The Statewide Database is housed at the University of California, Berkeley.

History and Legislation

The Statewide Database originated from a dataset that was created for California's State Assembly, and used in the redistricting of 1981. In 1993, the California Legislature voted to move the database permanently to a nonpartisan environment. In 2001, the Statewide Database’s redistricting dataset was used by the state legislature to draw California’s statewide districts.

In November 2008, California voters passed California Proposition 11, the Voters First Act, which mandated the establishment of the California Citizens Redistricting Commission to draw California’s State Assembly, State Senate, and Board of Equalization districts. The 2010 passage of 2010 California Proposition 20, the Voters First Act for Congress, further charged the CCRC to draw the state’s U.S. Congressional District boundaries following the congressional apportionment   based on results of the 2010 United States census. The redistricting dataset processed and published by the Statewide Database has been used by the CCRC in the 2011 and 2021 redistrictings.

2019 saw the passage of Assembly Bill 849, also known as The Fair and Inclusive Redistricting for Municipalities and Political Subdivisions (FAIR MAPS) Act. The FAIR MAPS act requires cities and counties to engage communities in the redistricting process by holding public hearings and/or workshops and doing public outreach. In response to these new requirements, the Statewide Database began processing and publishing local election results for specified contests on the city and county level.

In advance of the 2021 redistricting cycle, California’s In advance of the 2021 redistricting cycle, California’s Election Code was updated to request that the CCRC “deem each incarcerated person as residing at his or her last known place of residence, rather than at the institution of his or her incarceration,” for purposes of redistricting, per CA Election Code 21003. As a result, the Statewide Database’s 2021 dataset reallocates data about individuals incarcerated in state correctional facilities back to their last known residential address and excludes data from individuals incarcerated in federal correctional facilities.

Public Access to Redistricting

California’s Government Government Code Section 8253 states that “The Legislature shall take all steps necessary to ensure that a complete and accurate computerized database is available for redistricting, and that procedures are in place to provide the public ready access to redistricting data.” This responsibility is fulfilled by the Statewide Database. During the 2011 redistricting, the Statewide Database opened and staffed six Redistricting Access Sites in population centers throughout California. At each Redistricting Access Site, any member of the public could access redistricting software and census-block level data to create their own redistricting plans for statewide districts. These plans could then be submitted to the CCRC for consideration in their deliberations. At the time, redistricting software was prohibitively expensive, and this marked the first instance in the state’s history that Californians had free and direct access to redistricting software using the same data as the redistricting body.

In the 2021 redistricting cycle, SWDB again opened and staffed six Redistricting Access Sites equipped with redistricting software. Additionally, the Statewide Database developed three free-to-use redistricting softwares to facilitate public access to the state’s redistricting process. These tools included two online tools: one designed specifically for the creation of Community of Interest testimony and one district-based tool. SWDB also developed a full redistricting software program in the form of a QGIS plugin. Each of these software products gave users free access to census-block level data that covered the entire state, and were designed so that users could access them from home as well as from a Redistricting Access Center.