Transitioning to District Elections

District Elections 

The City of Laguna Niguel, like numerous of other cities and school districts across the state, is making a change in how voters elect its City Council Members. Beginning in 2024, voters will vote for one City Council Member who lives in their district. This will replace the City's current system of at-large citywide elections in which voters have the ability to vote for all City Council Members.

The Districting Process 

Local governments use data from the U.S. Census Bureau to draw district lines to reflect the changing local population demographics. State law requires cities  to engage communities in the districting process by holding public hearings and conducting public outreach.

The City Council is the decision-making authority throughout this entire process, and the City Council will review every map submitted by the public. 

Public Participation

The City needs your help in making this change from at-large to districted elections. One of the City's primary goals when drawing City Council Districts is to draw lines that respect neighborhoods and communities of interest. 

The City will be holding public hearings to receive public input on where district lines should be drawn. Those public input hearings will be held on:

Mapping Tools 

A City Placemat (PDF map) and an online mapping tool option, known as Districtr, is available for residents to draw their own communities of interest and create their own districted maps.  Every map submitted will be reviewed by the City Council. The City Council serves as the ultimate decision maker in the final City Council District Map. 

Please click the website button below to visit the City's online mapping tool option. 

Submitted maps will appear on Districtr under 'Public Gallery' and will be added to this webpage. If you have any questions, a public testimony, or would like to submit a drafted map outside of the online mapping, please email districting@cityoflagunaniguel.org. 

Public Map Submissions 

Demographer Draft Map Submissions

The City has contracted with a professional demographer to assist as an educator and facilitator during the process to transition to a District-based election system.  The professional demographer also provides draft map submittals to the City Council based upon themes found in the public map submittals.  Four draft maps have been prepared for the City Council to review:  

NOTE:  Per the requirements of the law, the City’s map drawing process began following the initial two public hearings held on September 5, 2023, and September 19, 2023.  The public was encouraged and permitted to utilize ranking criteria to create proposed district maps for consideration; and, was also provided with an opportunity to submit said maps prior to October 25, 2023. In accordance with state law, all public submittal and draft maps for Council’s consideration at the third public hearing (November 7, 2023), were posted on the City website on or before October 31, 2023, at least seven days prior to the public hearing. In accordance with state law, all public submittal and draft maps for Council’s consideration at the fourth public hearing (December 5, 2023), were posted on the City website on or before November 28, 2023, at least seven days prior to the public hearing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is districting?

Simply put, districting is the establishment of election districts. It determines who can run and who can vote in each district. Candidates and voters must live within their respective election districts. This does not impact city services to the public. The only change the districting process creates is how City Council Members are elected. 

Districting only happens once. After City Council boundaries are established, the City will conduct redistrictings to balance the district populations following the results of each decennial census, with the next U.S. Census collection being 2030. This ensures that each elected official represents about the same number of constituents. All district lines must be reviewed to meet strict requirements for population equality and voting rights protections in accordance with the Federal Voting Rights Act and the California Elections Code.

Why is district formation important?

District formation determines which neighborhoods and communities are grouped together into a district for purposes of electing a Council Member to represent that district. The formation process provides residents the opportunity to share how you think district boundaries should be drawn to best represent your community.

What criteria is used to determine district lines?

1.   Federal Laws

• Equal Population (based on total population of residents as determined by the most recent Federal decennial Census and adjusted by the State to reassign incarcerated persons to the last known place of residence)
• The Voting Rights Act of 1965
• Prohibits Racial Gerrymandering

2.   California Criteria for Cities 

• The California Voting Rights Act
• The FAIR MAPS Act
• Geographically contiguous 
• Minimize splits of neighborhoods and “communities of interest” 
• Easily identifiable boundaries
• Compact (Do not bypass one group of people to get to a more distant group of people)

Prohibited: drawing lines to favor or discriminate against an incumbent, candidate, or political party

What are Communities of Interest?

A community of interest is a “contiguous population that shares common social and economic interests that should be included within a single district for purposes of its effective and fair representation.” They are the overlapping sets of neighborhoods, networks, and groups that share interests, views, cultures, histories, languages, and values and whose boundaries can be identified on a map. The following elements help define communities of interest:

• Shared interests in schools, housing, community safety, transit, health conditions, land use, environmental conditions, and/or other issues;
• Common social and civic networks, including churches, mosques, temples, homeowner associations, and community centers, and shared use of community spaces, like parks and shopping centers;
• Racial and ethnic compositions, cultural identities, and households that predominantly speak a language other than English;
• Similar socio-economic status, including but not limited to income, home-ownership, and education levels;
• Shared political boundary lines from other jurisdictions, such as school districts, community college districts, and water districts

Who serves as the decision marker in the final City Council District Map?

The City Council is the decision-making authority throughout this entire process. Every map submitted will be reviewed by the City Council. The City Council serves as the ultimate decision maker in the final City Council District Map. 

Background

On June 16, 2023, the City of Laguna Niguel received a letter (PDF) challenging the City’s current election system and asserting that the City’s at-large election system violates the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA). 

The City of Laguna Niguel is not unique in this situation. Agencies throughout the State have received similar demand letters prompting a shift from at-large to district-based elections. While it is unclear if the City’s current system runs afoul of existing law, the cost of litigation to defend the at-large system, coupled with the track record of other public agencies that have fought similar challenges, poses a significant financial and legal risk to the City. 

In light of the letter and to protect the City from financial and legal risks, Laguna Niguel is taking steps to consider transitioning its election process to district-based elections. To read the City's Official Press Release, please CLICK HERE.  

To read the Mayor Kelly Jennings' official statement on the City's response to the demand to convert to district-based elections, please CLICK HERE or click the image below.