Altshuler Berzon LLP files motion challenging Riverside County’s 2021 Board of Supervisors Redistricting Plan under California’s landmark FAIR MAPS Act

On May 19, 2023, Altshuler Berzon LLP, together with the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California and Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP, filed a motion in the Riverside County Superior Court seeking an order prohibiting Riverside County from using the current Board of Supervisors district map and ordering the County to adopt a new supervisorial district map that complies with the requirements of California’s landmark recent redistricting legislation, the Fair And Inclusive Redistricting for Municipalities And Political Subdivisions Act (“FAIR MAPS Act”), Elec. Code §§ 21500-2150. The case is Inland Empire United, et al. v. Riverside County, et al., Case No. CVRI2202423. Altshuler Berzon LLP represents lead petitioner Inland Empire United and four individual co-petitioners.

The motion argues that Riverside County adopted a supervisorial district map following the 2020 census that unlawfully dilutes the voting strength of Latinos in Riverside County by splitting two majority Latino communities of interest among three districts, in violation of both the California Constitution’s equal protection guarantees and the federal Voting Rights Act, both of which are expressly incorporated into the FAIR MAPS Act. The motion also agues that the County independently violated the FAIR MAPS Act by considering and prioritizing incumbency when adopting the current map, and by improperly failing to prioritize keeping communities of interest whole over keeping cities whole. Petitioners request an order prohibiting the County from using the current map in any future election and compelling the County to comply with the FAIR MAPS Act by adopting a new, lawful supervisorial district map.

The Verified Petition for Writ of Mandate in the case is available here. The Motion for Issuance of a Peremptory Writ of Mandate is available here.