Union City To Switch From At-Large to District Council Seats

UNION CITY, CA — Union City will fundamentally change the way all future City Councils are elected by switching from an At-Large system to Districts. Currently, everyone in the city votes for the four council seats. In the future, the city will be drawn into districts and each resident will only be allowed to vote for the council member who serves that district.

The City Council voted unanimously at Tuesday night's meeting to approve a resolution declaring its intent to transition to by-district elections. The move followed the receipt of a letter from the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) which accused the city of violating the California Voting Rights Act. The City Council acted swiftly, having just received the letter on March 15, 2019.

MALDEF claimed that "the City’s current at-large election system dilutes the ability of Latino voters to elect candidates of their choice or otherwise influence the outcome of City Council elections," the city said in a release on Wednesday. "We want to send a strong message to our community that the City is committed to diversity and inclusion of all people from all backgrounds. As one of the most diverse cities in the State of California, we take pride in recognizing and celebrating diversity. We are also proud of the diverse representation on our City Council, Boards and Commissions and we are thankful to our residents from all backgrounds who step up to civically engage with the City."

The first by-district election will take place during the November 2020 election.The city plans to hire a demographer to facilitate the drawing of a new by-district map. Public hearings will be held to get input from voters.

The city also said in its release, "Our transition to by-district elections is not an admission or proof of evidence that our current election system has violated the California Voting Rights Act or any other provision of law."