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Judge expands ruling to require seven council districts

Judge expands ruling to require seven council districts

01/03/2019 8:42 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Future City Council elections in the City of Santa Monica will be determined by a seven-district map after the judge in the voting rights lawsuit altered her earlier ruling.

In December, Judge Yvette Palazuelos issued an amended tentative ruling, siding with Plaintiffs Maria Loya and the Pico Neighborhood Association (PNA) that the City’s at-large voting system violates the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA). At that time she ordered the city to discontinue at-large elections and adopt a district based system but she only mandated the borders for a Pico neighborhood district.

In a hearing on Jan. 02, Palazuelos changed her initial ruling altering the borders of the initial Pico district slightly and adding borders for six other districts. The now seven-district map is identical to one presented by the Plaintiffs during the trial.