Proposition C – Independence of the redistricting commission
Proposition C changes the rules for the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, the group of residents (not council members) who draw Austin’s council district lines. This is a charter amendment that the City Council put on the ballot.
It would:
- Say outright that the commission is independent of City Council control
- Let the commission review districts after the city’s boundaries change, for example when the city annexes land
- Let the student member of the commission skip the requirement that every commissioner has been registered to vote in Austin for five straight years
- Set when a new district map takes effect
The student rule is the most concrete change. Today the commission has a seat for a student, but almost no student has lived and voted in Austin for five years, so the seat is hard to fill (Daily Texan).
These are sensible fixes to a system that has worked well since voters created it in 2012. We found no organized opposition.
Recommendation: Yes