- Olivia Rodrigo's home of Southern California could be reshaped after the 2020 Census.
- The 18-year-old singer and actress just released her debut album "Sour" to massive critical acclaim.
- Both Los Angeles County and Riverside County, where Rodrigo is from, will see districts shifted.
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The next time Olivia Rodrigo drives through the suburbs, it could be in a different congressional district.
The new pop phenom became eligible to vote on her 18th birthday in February 2021. This year, the place she calls home, Southern California, could undergo major changes following the results of the 2020 Census.
Rodrigo, a singer and actress, released her debut album "Sour" on Friday to massive critical acclaim, following the mega-successful release of her blockbuster single "driver's license" in January. She also released singles "dejà vu" and "good 4 u," as reapportionment will not be for California.
The themes of teen heartache and musical references to artists like Taylor Swift and Paramore in "Sour" got many millennials, who were teenagers during the last redistricting cycle in 2011-2012, deep in their feelings.
It's brutal out here for the Eureka State, too. California, for the first time in its history as a state, is losing a congressional district after the 2020 Census.
The Constitution requires a census, or count of the population, every 10 years, and federal law mandates that the US House have exactly 435 seats with the same number of residents. This means that states are subject to lose or gain seats in the House of Representatives based on the rate of their population growth or population loss relative to other states.
After reapportionment, California will go down from 53 to 52 House seats, the Census Bureau confirmed in late April. Some experts believe that Southern California could be the region that loses a House seat based on recent population trends, Politico and ABC 30 recently reported. California's overall stagnant population is due to a number of factors including declining birthrates and immigration to the state, experts told The New York Times.
Rodrigo is a native of Temecula, California, located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California between Los Angeles and San Diego, and moved to Los Angeles at age 12 to star in the Disney Channel series "Bizaardvark." Temecula, in Riverside County, is currently located in California's 50th Congressional District and represented by Rep. Darrell Issa, a Republican.
The Press-Enterprise recently reported that Riverside County's population has remained relatively steady as Los Angeles County's has declined. This means that while Los Angeles could lose out, the Inland Empire could gain more districts within its borders, as the area did in 2011 reapportionment.
Riverside-based districts could also be merged with those in neighboring San Bernardino or Orange Counties to ensure communities of interest are represented in the same district.
California's redistricting process for congressional and state legislative districts is conducted by an independent commission made up of five Democrats, five Republicans, and four nonpartisan members. The commission draws districts based on Census data and is soliciting direct citizen input from everyday citizens (and pop stars).
Rodrigo began her onscreen journey in the 2015 film "An American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success" before acting in "Bizaardvark" for three seasons and then starring in "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series" on Disney+ alongside Joshua Bassett, her rumored ex-boyfriend and inspiration for "driver's license."
She wrote and performed the highly successful song "All I Want" for the series, and subsequently signed a deal with Interscope Records in 2020.
Prior to the 2020 election, Rodrigo collaborated with President Joe Biden's granddaughter Maisy on a joint video encouraging eligible voters to get out and vote for Biden.