California State Senate District 31

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California State Senate District 31
Incumbent
Assumed office: December 2, 2024

California State Senate District 31 is represented by Sabrina Cervantes (D).

As of the 2020 Census, California state senators represented an average of 989,419 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 933,550 residents.

About the office

Members of the California State Senate serve four-year terms with term limits.[1] The terms of the senators are staggered so that half the membership is elected every two years. The senators representing odd-numbered districts are elected in years evenly divisible by four. The senators from even-numbered districts are elected in the intervening even-numbered years. California legislators assume office the first Monday in the December following their election.[2]

Qualifications

See also: State legislature candidate requirements by state

According to Article IV of the California Constitution:[3]

A person is ineligible to be a member of the Legislature unless the person is an elector and has been a resident of the legislative district for one year, and a citizen of the United States and a resident of California for 3 years, immediately preceding the election, and service of the full term of office to which the person is seeking to be elected would not exceed the maximum years of service permitted by subdivision (a) of this section.[4]


Salaries

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
State legislative salaries, 2024[5]
SalaryPer diem
$128,215/year$214/day

Term limits

See also: State legislatures with term limits

The California Legislature is one of 16 state legislatures with term limits. Since the passage of Prop 28 in 2012, legislators first elected on or after November 6, 2012, are limited to a maximum of 12 years. Prop 140, passed in 1990, affects any members elected prior to November 6, 2012, and limits them to a maximum of two four-year terms (eight years total).[6]


Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures

If there is a vacancy in the California State Legislature, the governor must call for a special election. The governor must call the election within 14 calendar days of the vacancy. No special election shall be held if the vacancy occurs after the nominating deadline has passed in the final year of the term of office.[7]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: California Code, 1773 and California Cons. Art. IV, § 2


District map

As of February 2023, two sets of overlapping California State Senate maps are in effect because the state's adopted redistricting plan takes effect in two phases. Even-numbered districts use boundaries from the post-2020 census map, while odd-numbered districts use boundaries adopted after the 2010 census. As a result, an area may be represented by two Senators, or may not be represented by any Senator, during the 2023-24 legislative session. The state Senate map enacted after the 2020 census will fully take effect after the 2024 elections.


Redistricting

2020 redistricting cycle

See also: Redistricting in California after the 2020 census

The California Citizens Redistricting Commission voted 14-0 in favor of a new state Assembly and Senate district maps on December 20, 2021, and delivered those maps to the secretary of state on December 27, 2021.[8][9] These maps took effect for California's 2022 state legislative elections.

How does redistricting in California work? In California, a non-politician commission draws both congressional and state legislative district lines. Established in 2008 by ballot initiative, the commission comprises 14 members: five Democrats, five Republicans, and four belonging to neither party. A panel of state auditors selects the pool of nominees from which the commissioners are appointed. This pool comprises 20 Democrats, 20 Republicans, and 20 belonging to neither party. The majority and minority leaders of both chambers of the state legislature may each remove two members from each of the aforementioned groups. The first eight commission members are selected at random from the remaining nominees. These first eight comprise three Democrats, three Republicans, and two belonging to neither party. The first eight commissioners appoint the remaining six, which must include two Democrats, two Republicans, and two belonging to neither party.[10]

Commissioners must meet the following requirements in order to serve:[10]

  1. Members must have voted in at least two of the last three statewide elections.
  2. Members cannot have switched party affiliation for at least five years.
  3. "Neither commissioners nor immediate family may have been, within 10 years of appointment, a candidate for federal or state office or member of a party central committee; an officer, employee, or paid consultant to a federal or state candidate or party; a registered lobbyist or paid legislative staff; or a donor of more than $2,000 to an elected candidate."
  4. Members cannot be "staff, consultants or contractors for state or federal government" while serving as commissioners. The same prohibition applies to the family of commission members.

In order to approve a redistricting plan, nine of the commission's 14 members must vote for it. These nine must include three Democrats, three Republicans, and three belonging to neither party. Maps drawn by the commission may be overturned by public referendum. In the event that a map is overturned by the public, the California Supreme Court must appoint a group to draw a new map.[10]

The California Constitution requires that districts be contiguous. Further, the state constitution mandates that "to the extent possible, [districts] must ... preserve the geographic integrity of cities, counties, neighborhoods and communities of interest." Districts must also "encourage compactness." State Senate and Assembly districts should be nested within each other where possible.[10]

California State Senate District 31
until December 1, 2024

Click a district to compare boundaries.

California State Senate District 31
starting December 2, 2024

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Elections

2024

See also: California State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for California State Senate District 31

Sabrina Cervantes defeated Cynthia Navarro in the general election for California State Senate District 31 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Sabrina Cervantes
Sabrina Cervantes (D)
 
54.3
 
153,282
Image of Cynthia Navarro
Cynthia Navarro (R)
 
45.7
 
128,994

Total votes: 282,276
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for California State Senate District 31

Cynthia Navarro and Sabrina Cervantes defeated Angelo Farooq in the primary for California State Senate District 31 on March 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Cynthia Navarro
Cynthia Navarro (R)
 
45.9
 
46,633
Image of Sabrina Cervantes
Sabrina Cervantes (D)
 
39.4
 
40,033
Image of Angelo Farooq
Angelo Farooq (D)
 
14.8
 
15,026

Total votes: 101,692
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2020

See also: California State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for California State Senate District 31

Incumbent Richard Roth defeated Rod Taylor in the general election for California State Senate District 31 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Richard Roth (D)
 
59.0
 
216,910
Rod Taylor (R)
 
41.0
 
150,734

Total votes: 367,644
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for California State Senate District 31

Incumbent Richard Roth and Rod Taylor defeated John Farr in the primary for California State Senate District 31 on March 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Richard Roth (D)
 
98.9
 
106,435
Rod Taylor (R) (Write-in)
 
0.9
 
959
Image of John Farr
John Farr (L) (Write-in)
 
0.2
 
189

Total votes: 107,583
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2016

See also: California State Senate elections, 2016

Elections for the California State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election was held on June 7, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was February 25, 2016, for candidates filing with signatures. The deadline for candidates using a filing fee to qualify was March 11, 2016.[11]

Incumbent Richard Roth defeated Richard Reed in the California State Senate District 31 general election.[12][13]

California State Senate, District 31 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Richard Roth Incumbent 60.54% 167,574
     Republican Richard Reed 39.46% 109,238
Total Votes 276,812
Source: California Secretary of State


Incumbent Richard Roth and Richard Reed were unopposed in the California State Senate District 31 Blanket primary.[14][15]

California State Senate, District 31 Blanket Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Richard Roth Incumbent
    Republican Green check mark transparent.png Richard Reed

2012

See also: California State Senate elections, 2012

Elections for the office of California State Senate consisted of a primary election on June 5, 2012, and a general election on November 6, 2012. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 9, 2012. Richard Roth (D) and Jeff Miller (R) defeated Steve Clute (D) in the June 5 blanket primary. Roth then defeated Miller in the general election.[16] [17]

California State Senate, District 31, General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngRichard Roth 55.3% 133,882
     Republican Jeff Miller 44.7% 108,320
Total Votes 242,202
California State Senate, District 31 Blanket Primary, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngJeff Miller 51.1% 38,641
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngRichard Roth 28.8% 21,812
     Democratic Steve Clute 20.1% 15,191
Total Votes 75,644

Campaign contributions

From 2000 to 2024, candidates for California State Senate District 31 raised a total of $12,729,374. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $748,787 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money

Campaign contributions, California State Senate District 31
Year Amount Candidates Average
2024 $2,546,319 3 $848,773
2020 $1,111,327 2 $555,663
2016 $1,408,867 2 $704,434
2010 $543,502 1 $543,502
2008 $496,548 2 $248,274
2006 $443,374 1 $443,374
2004 $665,700 2 $332,850
2002 $2,440,343 1 $2,440,343
2000 $3,073,394 3 $1,024,465
Total $12,729,374 17 $748,787


See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. California State Constitution, accessed December 16, 2013
  2. California Constitution, "Article 4, Section 2. (a)(3)," accessed November 1, 2021
  3. California Legislature, "Qualifications for State Legislature," accessed May 21, 2025
  4. Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  5. National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
  6. California Legislative Information, "Article IV Legislative (Sec. 1 - Sec. 28)," accessed February 9, 2021
  7. California Legislative Information, "California Code," accessed February 9, 2021 (Statute, 1773-California Government Code)
  8. Politico, "California’s new congressional map boosts Democrats," Dec. 21, 2021
  9. Lake County News, "California Citizens Redistricting Commission delivers maps to California Secretary of State," Dec. 28, 2021
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 All About Redistricting, "California," accessed April 21, 2015
  11. California Secretary of State, "Key Dates and Deadlines," accessed April 18, 2017
  12. California Secretary of State, "Certified List of Candidates for the November 8, 2016, General Election," accessed September 7, 2016
  13. California Secretary of State, "2016 General Election results," accessed December 23, 2016
  14. California Secretary of State, "Certified List of Candidates for Voter-Nominated Offices," accessed April 4, 2016
  15. California Secretary of State, "Statement of Vote," accessed August 22, 2016
  16. " California Secretary of State, "2012 General Election," November 7, 2013 (dead link)
  17. California Secretary of State, "2012 General Primary,” November 7, 2013


Current members of the California State Senate
Leadership
Minority Leader:Brian Jones
Senators
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
S. Limón (D)
District 22
District 23
District 24
Ben Allen (D)
District 25
District 26
District 27
District 28
District 29
District 30
District 31
District 32
District 33
District 34
District 35
District 36
District 37
District 38
District 39
District 40
Democratic Party (30)
Republican Party (10)