Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/voting-districts/)
A group of residents did everything required to get a referendum on the November ballot to change the city’s electoral system from at-large to district-based voting. But the council pushed it off to the 2018 election.
City Council members decided to stick with a voting district map backed by business leaders instead of one supported by a coalition of local residents.
In choosing a map favored by the Fullerton business community, council members did not abide by the settlement agreement in state Voting Rights Act lawsuits, ruled Superior Court Judge James Crandall.
The map, which was approved by the Fullerton City Council last month, violates state and federal voting rights law, according to a motion filed in Superior Court.
While battles over creating local election districts usually revolve around disenfranchisement of minority groups, the contentious issue in this largely white seaside town is geography.
Local policymakers will be deciding on the purchase of Santa Ana’s abandoned bus depot that could help alleviate homelessness, holding a hearing proposed new voting districts in Garden Grove, and weighing in on Donald Trump’s “divisive rhetoric.”
The Fullerton City Council Tuesday heard input from residents on maps that could end up being the basis for district boundaries as the city prepares for a possible change to a council-districts electoral system.
With enthusiastic support from broad range of Anaheim community members, a panel of retired judges this week officially endorsed a map for the city’s first voting districts. Now it is up to Anaheim City Council members to decide whether they like the maps.
The Fullerton City Council Tuesday approved a plan for involving city residents in the drawing of boundaries for new voting districts that will be in place for next year’s elections.