City Council Voting Districts

District Elections Voting System Finalized / City Council Approves New District Map

Beginning in 2020, residents in the City of Los Alamitos will vote for candidates who run in the district in which they live. Once elected, these City Council Members will provide direct representation of the unique population, issues and challenges found within each of the districts. The Council shall elect one of its members to act as Mayor as outlined in the City’s Charter.

On July 30, 2018, following five public hearings related to the creation of geographic voting districts and the drawing of district boundaries, the Los Alamitos City Council approved the Green District Map. The City Council adopted Ordinance No. 2018-05 establishing a district-based election system inclusive of the Council’s preferred district map and sequence of by-district elections. Council selected its preferred sequencing of Districts 1 and 3 in 2020 and Districts 2, 4, and 5 in 2022. These changes will be in effect for the November 2020 General Municipal Election.

UPDATE AUGUST 1, 2018

The districting process is now complete. The information below is preserved for archive purposes.

City Council Voting Districts

The City of Los Alamitos is working to comply with the California Voting Rights Act of 2001. Beginning with the November 2020 elections, Los Alamitos voters will start to elect members of the City Council from geographically defined districts, rather than through a citywide at-large voting process. The City is seeking input from the community to help draw the future council districts in Los Alamitos. The results of this input process would be the creation of a number of distinct voting districts. Candidates living within each of the different districts would then run for election, and residents will vote for a candidate within their district. This will allow for each district to have representation on the City Council, providing a representative advocating for each district within the city. This page will provide access to all things related to the district based elections mapping process including, but not limited to, notices of all public meetings, public notices, press release, agenda reports, maps and supporting documents. Should you have any questions, please contact the City Clerk’s Office at (562) 431-3538, ext. 220 or via email wquintanar(at)cityoflosalamitos.org.

Why is there a proposal to change the voting process?

The City currently utilizes an at-large election system where voters citywide select each of the five City Council Members. By contrast, a district-based election system is one in which a city is physically divided into separate districts, each with one council member who resides in the district and is chosen solely by the voters residing in that district. The City received a certified letter on March 29, 2018, from Kevin Shenkman, an attorney with the law firm of Shenkman & Hughes in Malibu, California. The letter asserts that the City’s at-large election system violates the California Voting Rights Act by diluting the ability of Latinos to elect candidates of their choice or otherwise influence the outcome of Los Alamitos’ City Council elections. Mr. Shenkman claims “polarized voting” may be occurring and threatens litigation if the City declines to voluntarily convert to district-based elections. The California Voting Rights Act (“CVRA”), codified as Elections Code sections 14025 et seq. became law on January 1, 2003. The purpose of the CVRA is to prevent the disenfranchisement of protected classes; which are broadly defined to include members of a race, color, or language minority group. Any voter who resides in a city and is a member of a protected class may file a lawsuit against the city for a violation of the CVRA. To succeed, the plaintiff must only show that, as a result of an at-large election, “racially polarized voting” has occurred. “Racially polarized voting” means there is a difference between the choice of candidates preferred by voters in a protected class and candidates preferred by voters in the remainder of the voting population.

What is the timeline for this change?

The districting process timeline is prescribed by the California Elections Code, Section 10010. The City had a 45 day period from the receipt of the certified letter to consider if it desired to transition to election by districts and to adopt a resolution indicating so. Once the City Council adopted a resolution indicating its intent to transition to districts, the City had 90 days to do so. In order to stay within the State’s safe harbor protections and avoid potentially costly legal exposure in the event of a California Voting Rights Act challenge, the process had to be completed within a 90-day window.

Resolutions

Resolution of Intention

Public Hearing Notices

Hearings Scheduled (English) (Español) (한국어) (Tiếng Việt)
Introduction of Ordinance 2018-05
Adoption of Ordinance 2018-05

Staff Reports and Meeting Recordings

Share your thoughts at a Meeting
As with any issue before the City Council, you can attend a forum, testify at a hearing, and/or encourage the Council to vote yes or no on any part of this process by simply coming to any of the public meetings on this topic.

Share your thoughts in Writing
You do not have to wait for a meeting to weigh in: you can call, e-mail or write to the Council with your thoughts at any time:

Windmera Quitnanar, MMC, City
3191 Katella Ave.
Los Alamitos, CA 90720
Phone: (562) 431-3538, ext. 220
E-email: wquintanar(at)cityoflosalamitos.org

Any thoughts you share with the City Clerk will be shared with the City’s demographic consultant and with the entire City Council.

Draw your own Map
Districting is an unusual issue: instead of simply urging the Council to vote yes or no on a given map, with Districting you can take the next step and draw and submit your own preferred map for the Council to consider. Every map received, in any format, will be processed by the City’s demographic consultant complete with professional map and full demographic analysis. All legal maps will be presented to the Council for its consideration. Legal compliance with State and federally mandated criteria includes:

Each district shall contain nearly equal population
Each district shall be drawn in a manner that complies with the Federal Voting Rights Act
Each district shall not be drawn with race as the predominate factor

Please submit all maps to the City Clerk’s Office. You may submit in person or via email. Please make sure to include your contact information so our demographic consultant can contact you with any questions.

For your reference, you can download the Zoning Map here.

Draft Maps
For each draft plan listed below, there are links to Adobe PDF maps and a link to an interactive maps that allow you to zoom in and out to see plan details.

Council Selected Map and District Sequencing – July 30, 2018

NDC – GREEN District Map (posted 7/19/18) – Scheduled to be adopted at an adjourned regular meeting on July 30, 2018 at 6:00 p.m.

Council Preferred Map and District Sequencing – July 16, 2018

NDC – GREEN District Map (posted 7/11/18)

Second Round of Draft Maps – July 9, 2018

The maps listed below will be presented to the City Council for consideration at its Fourth Public Hearing on July 9, 2018 at 6:00 p.m.

NDC – GREEN District Map (posted 7/2/18)

NDC – PURPLE District Map (posted 7/2/18)

NDC – TAN District Map (posted 7/2/18)

NDC – YELLOW District Map (posted 7/2/18)

El Ouardani Map 3 (posted 7/2/18)

El Ouardani Map 4 (posted 7/2/18)

Strawther Map 2 (posted 7/2/2018)

First Round of Draft Maps – June 18, 2018

The maps listed below were presented to the City Council for consideration at the Third Public Hearing held on June 18, 2018 at 5:00 p.m.

NDC – GREEN District Map (posted 6/11/2018) (Proposed Election Sequence updated 6/14/18)

NDC – PURPLE District Map (posted 6/11/2018) (Proposed Election Sequence updated 6/14/18)

NDC – TAN District Map (posted 6/11/2018) (Proposed Election Sequence updated 6/14/18)

NDC – YELLOW District Map (posted 6/11/2018) (Proposed Election Sequence updated 6/14/18)

These maps were submitted by members of the community. While they do not meet population-balancing requirements, they still provide important feedback on communities of interest and can help guide discussion toward the development of a final district map for Los Alamitos.

Resident 1 – District Map (posted 6/11/2018)

PDF Map
- Revised PDF Map 6/14/18 – This drafts and/or revisions to drafts were received after June 12, 2018
- PDF Demographic Sheet
PDF Map
- Revised PDF Map 6/14/18 – This drafts and/or revisions to drafts were received after June 12, 2018
- PDF Demographic Sheet

Resident 2 – District Map (posted 6/11/2018)

PDF Map

Resident 3 – District Map (posted 6/11/2018)

PDF Map
- Revised PDF Map 6/18/18 – This drafts and/or revisions to drafts were received after June 12, 2018
- PDF Demographic Sheet

Ask your Questions
The City Clerk is available to answer any questions you have about the process; the schedule; the draft plans; or how to draw your own plan. You can reach the City Clerk using the contact information provided.

Districting Schedule
All meetings will be held in the Council Chamber located at 3191 Katella Ave., Los Alamitos, CA 90720.

Tentative Timeline: Consideration and Implementation of “District-Based” Election Method

DATE	EVENT	COMMENTS/STATUS
March 29, 2018	City received demand letter	City has 45 days to adopt Resolution of Intention to change to district elections.
May 11, 2018 Friday	City Council adopts Resolution declaring its intention to transition form at-large to district-based elections	CVRA action cannot be commenced for 90 days (August 9, 2018)
May 11, 2018 Friday	City Council approves Consulting Services Agreement with qualified demographer	City entered into an agreement with National Demographics Corporation, Inc.
Tuesday, May 29, 2018 6:00 p.m.	1st Public Hearing	City Council hearing regarding composition of district; no maps yet.
Monday, June 4, 2018 6:00 p.m.	2nd Public Hearing	City Council hearing regarding composition of district; no maps yet.
Monday, June 11, 2018	Post draft maps and potential sequence of elections on the City’s website	Draft maps and proposed sequence must be posted publicly at least 7 days before 3rd Public Hearing.
Monday, June 18, 2018 5:00 p.m.	3rd Public Hearing	City Council hearing regarding composition of district.
Wednesday, June 20, 2018	Post any new or amended maps and potential sequence of elections to the City’s website.	Draft maps and proposed sequence must be posted publicly at least 7 days before 3rd Public Hearing.
Monday, July 9, 2018 6:00 p.m.	4th Public Hearing	Select map, City Council introduces ordinance establishing district elections, including district boundaries and election sequence
Monday, July 16, 2018 6:00 p.m.	5th Public Hearing	Second reading of ordinance establishing district elections. Ordinance must be adopted at a Regular Council meeting.
August 8, 2018	Day 90	Safe harbor provisions
August 15, 2018	Effective date of ordinance establishing district elections	District Election will be effective for the November 2020 Election.

City Clerk’s Office
Windmera Quintanar, MMC, City Clerk
3191 Katella Ave., Los Alamitos, CA 90720
(562) 431-3538, ext. 220
wquintanar(at)cityoflosalamitos.org