Lawyers Threaten To Sue Walnut Creek Over Alleged Voting Rights Violation

WALNUT CREEK, CA — Walnut Creek could join a growing list of California cities forced to abandon at-large elections after attorneys alleged the city's voting system violates the California Voting Rights Act and threatened legal action if changes are not made.

The challenge centers on Walnut Creek's method of electing city council members at large, a system the city has used since its incorporation in 1914.

Under the current system, every Walnut Creek voter can cast ballots for every council seat appearing in a citywide election.

If the city transitions to district elections, voters would instead elect only the council member representing the district where they live, changing who appears on each ballot and which neighborhoods each council member represents.

Exactly how Walnut Creek will respond remains unresolved.

City officials have not changed its election system, according to Alexandra Wolf, assistant city attorney for Walnut Creek and South San Francisco.

She said in an email that officials are committed to hearing from residents before making any decision.

"The City is committed to hearing from residents and will ensure the community has a voice in this process before any change is made to the City's election system," Wolf wrote.

She added that Walnut Creek is "committed to being welcoming, inclusive, and representative," and that any future election system must "work fairly for everyone in accordance with the law."

The legal challenge began with an Oct. 31, 2025, letter from the law firm Shenkman & Hughes on behalf of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project and members who reside in Walnut Creek.

The attorneys contend the city's at-large elections do not comply with the California Voting Rights Act.

Specific clients represented by Shenkman & Hughes in connection with the Walnut Creek challenge have not been identified.

Under the California Voting Rights Act, cities receiving such notices can avoid costly litigation by adopting a resolution declaring their intent to transition to district elections.

The law outlines a public process that includes community hearings, the publication of draft district maps, and final adoption of district boundaries.

Several California cities have followed that path in recent years. In the North Bay, both Sonoma and Healdsburg replaced at-large elections with district-based systems after receiving similar legal challenges from the same law firm.

Walnut Creek has not yet begun that public transition process, making it one of the fewer California cities that continues to elect council members entirely at large.

The issue arrives as voters prepare for the city's Nov. 3 election, when two city council seats and the city treasurer's office will appear on the ballot under the existing at-large system.

Whether future elections follow that same format now depends on how Walnut Creek responds to the legal challenge and whether city leaders decide to begin the transition to district-based representation.