The Cypress City Council is making the switch to districts when electing city council members — a change that will go into effect for the first time later this year for the November election.
It comes after city officials spent over a year voicing their opposition to election districts while facing legal threats.
The switch comes after a California Voting Rights Lawsuit that claimed at-large voting systems disenfranchised Asian American residents.
The council voted 4-1 at a special meeting earlier this month to settle the lawsuit and make a switch to election districts.
[Read: Cypress Voters to See Big Changes Ahead of November 2024 Election]
The lawsuit came from Cypress residents Malini Nagpal and Kathryn Shapiro, along with the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project. The group sued the city in July 2022 alleging that Cypress’ election system violates the California Voting Rights Act.
The suit was filed after the council decided to ignore letters from Malibu-based attorney Kevin Shenkman threatening to sue if the city didn’t make the switch.
In at-large elections — which Cypress used previously — all residents were able to cast a vote for however many seats were listed on the ballot. For example, if there were three city council seats up for grabs, any resident could vote for three different candidates.
But in a district election system, residents can only vote for one candidate running to represent their district where they live. Additionally, candidates can only run for office in the district they live in.
[Read: Cypress Sued For Violating Voting Rights Act After Refusing District Elections]
Justin Levitt, a demographer working with the city, said the timeline has been crunched in order to get the entire districting process done in time for November’s General Election.
“We’re looking at trying to get this done for the 2024 election, which means we’re backing up based on the election calendars and when candidates would need to file to run within the districts that are drawn,” Levitt said at the Jan. 22 Cypress City Council meeting.
Levitt said residents can help the districting process by submitting their own maps with specific boundary lines that they think represent the cities’ communities most accurately.
The council will hold a second public hearing to get additional public input during its next meeting on Jan. 29.
Draft maps are scheduled to be released in February.
Two more public hearings to consider draft maps are slated for Feb. 12 and Feb. 26.
The meeting was the first opportunity for Cypress residents to voice their preferences for how the maps will be drawn and where boundaries will be placed.
Cypress resident Ed Kramer said he’s already submitted two maps to be considered for adoption. His biggest concern is making sure the city consults with homeowners when drawing the district lines.
“I don’t want somebody in the middle of the city putting big huge sports facilities at the end and saying, ‘To heck with whoever lives there. We’re going to put this facility there,’” Kramer said at Tuesday’s council meeting. “When we draft these [maps], we have to consider homeowners.”
Angelina Hicks is a Voice of OC Tracy Wood Reporting Fellow. Contact her at ahicks@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @angelinahicks13.
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