Laguna Hills City Council Adopts Election District Map
Laguna Hills is officially moving toward district-based elections after council members approved a map that divides the city into five districts — it also comes after legal threats that the city’s at-large voting system disenfranchises minority voters.
It’s been a trend in Orange County over the past several years as cities change how they elect city council members in response to legal challenges that allege at-large voting violates the California Voting Rights Act and results in “racially polarized voting.”
At-large voting lets residents vote for every open city council seat. If there are three open city council seats during an election, that means every registered voter gets to cast their vote for all three open seats.
District voting creates election districts in cities and restricts voters to only elect the city council member who is running in their specific district – similar to how state legislators are elected. If there were three open city council seats, voters would only be able to cast their ballot for one candidate who lives in the district based on their home address.
https://voiceofoc.org/2025/11/laguna-hills-city-council-adopts-election-district-map/