The decision halts a sprawling dispute that has wound through every tier of California’s judicial system since 2016 when the Pico Neighborhood Association and longtime resident Maria Loya first filed the case. The plaintiffs alleged that electing all seven City Council members on an at-large, citywide plurality basis unlawfully diluted the voting power of minority residents — specifically Latino voters, who make up about 14% of the city’s voting population and are geographically concentrated in the Pico neighborhood.

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