Mission Viejo to Utilize District-Based Election System
It publicly shared its decision after voting in favor of the new system.
The move came after council analyzed the city’s demographics and determined its at-large voting system produced results that violated the state of California’s Voting Rights Act.
The act and various lawsuits have caused numerous California cities to move into districted elections due to the claim that current at-large voting hurts minority voters.
Rather than just accepting district-based elections like other cities, Mission Viejo for three years has considered cumulative voting elections since its minority voters are spread throughout the city, not congregated in one area that could be its own district. Cumulative voting would enable voters to choose their top candidates instead of just a single candidate for office.