Irvine City Council must decide on district elections SHARE IRVINE, Calif. — The City of Irvine has a choice to make, and if a recent legal missive is to be believed, it has until Sunday. Malibu lawyer Kevin Shenkman has submitted a letter asking the city to switch from an at-large election model to district voting. He contends that without separate voting districts, the elections have an inherent racial bias, a violation of the California Voting Rights Act. “Yes, district elections are better than at-large elections for reasons completely separate from race,” Shenkman said. “That’s my personal view, not the law.”