Measure G & Measure H: Who draws the lines in Santa Barbara County

Midterm elections are just a week away, and certain measures for Santa Barbara County residents could change the way county district lines will be mapped out.

Two Measures on the ballot, Measure G and Measure H, seem to be confusing some voters.

“The way that it is described in the ballot book [make it sound like] they sound the same,” said Robert Collector, founder of Reason in Government, a Santa Barbara organization supporting measure H.

Both Measure G and H call for an independent commission to re-draw county supervisor district boundaries, but the measures do it in very different ways.

“If you are voting for citizens and no politicians, you are voting for H,” said Collector. “If you want the county and politicians to be involved in independent redistricting, then you vote for G.”

Currently, Santa Barbara County supervisors draw the line once every ten years. Robert believes it can raise concerns about gerrymandering.

“Gerrymandering is when district lines are drawn to ensure that one political party always gets elected,” said Collector. “This takes the drawing of district lines out of politicians hands and puts it into to citizens hands.”

Measure H is on the ballot because it got enough signatures in petitions. Santa Barbara County Supervisors then placed Measure G right next to it.

“The difference is, Measure H is done by the people for the people,” said Collector. “It’s sweeping the country; we would be the first county in California to be doing it.”

For current districting information, click here.

For a sample ballot for Santa Barbara County with information on each measure, click here.