The California Voting Rights Project says Santa Cruz’s use of at-large districts i local elections violate the California Voting Rights Act because it results in racially polarized voting.
According to the state law, an at-large election is prohibited if, “it would impair the ability of a protected class… to elect candidates of its choice or otherwise influence the outcome of an election.”
The voting rights project says Santa Cruz’s population was about 36% residents of protected classes in 2017, and that includes more than one-fifth Hispanic or Latino.
However, since 2000, Latinos have accounted for only about 9% of all votes cast for the city council. During that time, the group says that only two Latinos have been elected to the Santa Cruz city council.
