How did the historic levels of diversity happen? 

There was a lot of turnover, including legislators resigning or seeking higher office, which created open seats without incumbents and more opportunity for political newcomers. One-fourth of members are entirely new to the Legislature. 

And there was also once-a-decade redrawing of electoral maps that carved out some more competitive districts. For the second time in California’s history, redistricting was done by an independent commission. In addition to not protecting incumbents, as was historically done by the California Legislature, the commission prioritized “communities of interest,” including ethnic minorities.  

In the Central Valley, for example, the Jakara Movement — a community organization advocating for Punjabi Sikhs — actively gave input during the months-long mapping process. Its efforts were apparently a success: Jasmeet Bains, California’s first Sikh lawmaker, was elected to the Assembly. 

Statewide, the number of majority Latino districts increased significantly, according to the Public Policy Institute of California — nearly matching the share of the Latino voting-eligible population in the state.

“A redistricting process that involves public inputs is likely to lead to increased representation of more racially and ethnically diverse candidates,” said Christian Grose, professor of political science and public policy at the University of Southern California.