It's never been easier to affect the future of local, state and national politics than it is right now.

For the first time in California, a commission of citizens will choose the boundaries for legislative districts, taking that responsibility out of the hands of politicians with vested party interests.

And the information center for all of Los Angeles is right down the block from where you live, in University Village.

 The Citizens Redistricting Commission accepted USC's offer of office space at cost next to the Baskin-Robbins and Superior Market where the Redistricting Assistance Site is now located.

The  drop-in center, one of five around the state, gives residents access to data to develop maps and other items for submission to the Citizens Redistricting Commission. 

We, the voters, created an independent panel to redraw the state's political boundaries three years ago. This affects every race, from the smallest local to the Senate.

The LA Area Chamber of Commerce, AARP, Common Cause and the League of Women Voters of California sponsored the ballot initiative to establish the commission to redraw legislative districts in California after each census.

"The goal was to eliminate the gerrymandered districts we have today," an email from the LA Chamber of Commerce stated.

A public hearing to provide input to the Citizens Redistricting Commission will be held tonight Thursday, April 28, 6-9 p.m. at Los Angeles City Hall, 200 N. Spring Street, 3rd Floor. 

Every 10 years a census is taken and after the results of the population count are tallied, the lines are re-drawn to determine representation. Historically, the lines have been drawn by politicians, as explained by Murrieta's State Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries.

If it sounds complicated, try out this cool online game created by USC to explain the process - http://www.redistrictinggame.org/.

"My current district is an example of all that is wrong with the old process," stated  Jeffries of Lake Elsinore on Murrietta Patch. "As a result, the new lines should be dramatically different from what they are today, and that will affect how you and your community are represented in Sacramento and Washington, DC.

"I happen to think that having Riverside's representatives focused exclusively on Riverside interests is a good thing for our county, and I think that the rural portions of San Diego that I represent deserve to have representatives who are focused entirely on them as well."

The redistricting assistance sites are funded by the James Irvine Foundation and administered by The Redistricting Group at UC Berkeley Law School.