Laguna Hills is officially moving toward district-based elections after council members approved a map that divides the city into five districts — it also comes after legal threats that the city’s at-large voting system disenfranchises minority voters.
It’s been a trend in Orange County over the past several years as cities change how they elect city council members in response to legal challenges that allege at-large voting violates the California Voting Rights Act and results in “racially polarized voting.”
At-large voting lets residents vote for every open city council seat. If there are three open city council seats during an election, that means every registered voter gets to cast their vote for all three open seats.
District voting creates election districts in cities and restricts voters to only elect the city council member who is running in their specific district – similar to how state legislators are elected. If there were three open city council seats, voters would only be able to cast their ballot for one candidate who lives in the district based on their home address.
Laguna Hills’ voting system is expected to change after city council members voted 3-1 to adopt a district map during their meeting on Nov. 18.
[Read: Laguna Hills Becomes Latest OC City to Adopt District Elections Amid Legal Threats]
Councilmember Dave Wheeler voted no and Councilmember Erica Pezold recused herself from the discussion because she’s friends with the lawyer who represented the voting rights challenge.
The map, known as Map 108, breaks Laguna Hills into five election districts.
The election map will need a second vote in order for it to be formally adopted. The council is expected to vote on the map again during its next meeting on Dec. 9.
During Tuesday night’s meeting, council members also decided that districts 1, 2 and 4 will be up for election in 2026, and districts 3 and 5 will be on the ballot in 2028.
“Map 108 represents the best balance for Laguna Hills,” Mayor Joshua Sweeney said at the meeting. “It provides continuous, compact districts that align with our neighborhoods and major roadways and communities of interest.”
He said that the map made the most sense when comparing it to the eight other options.
“Map 108 also does an excellent job of respecting our neighborhood integrity while ensuring equal representation across the city, and it maintains clarity for residents,” Sweeney said. “The boundaries are easy to understand, it’s logical and aligned with our growth areas.”
Councilmember Wheeler said Map 108 wasn’t as consistent and contiguous as other map options, like Map 109, which he supported.
“109 does divide up some things, but along the lines of keeping the integrity of the city, 109 is the best drawing,” Wheeler said.
While he supported Map 109, he disagreed with the districting process in general.
“The only map that really consistently provides a continuation of the city as it has been in the past and the residents would want is 109,” Wheeler said. “This whole process is kind of silly anyway because our entire city is smaller than some districts in some cities. It’s really a bad process to begin with.”
The legal challenges against Laguna Hills’ voting system began in June 2023 when attorney Michelle Jackson sent a letter to city staff requesting that the city change its election system to avoid legal action.
She also sent similar letters to San Clemente, Laguna Niguel and Rancho Santa Margarita — all three of those cities have already transitioned to utilizing district elections.
[Read: South OC Continues Refusing To Pay Lawyers Fees for District Elections]
Jackson sent a follow-up letter on Aug. 25 reiterating her request for Laguna Hills to alter its election system. She’s representing a group known as the Voter Equality Association in addition to a Laguna Hills resident named Arthur Sanchez, according to Jackson’s letter.
Her letter stated that the at-large voting method dilutes the ability of Latino residents to elect councilmembers of their choice.
“Given the historical lack of representation of Latinos on the Laguna Hills City Council or in positions of leadership within the City, we urge the City to voluntarily change its at-large system of electing governing board members,” reads the August letter. “Otherwise, on behalf of residents within the Laguna Hills jurisdiction, we will be forced to seek judicial relief.”
Justin Levitt, a representative with National Demographics Corporation who presented the map options to the council, said these new districts will only be used for the next three elections before new census data might shift them.
“Just a reminder,” Levitt told council members, “these districts will only be used for the ‘26, ‘28 and ‘30 elections because by 2032, we’ll have new census data and we’ll have an opportunity at least to revisit the maps.”
Angelina Hicks is the Voice of OC Collegiate News Service Editor. Contact her at ahicks@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @angelinahicks13.