A Superior Court Judge has given Santa Clarita the green light to pursue an innovative cumulative voting system which allows individuals to cast as many votes for a single candidate as there are open seats.
The new system is part of a settlement agreement between the city and a group of activists who filed a California Voting Rights Act suit last year. The at-large system employed by the city and the Santa Clarita Community College District dilutes minority votes, they contended, making it nearly impossible to get adequate Latino representation.
While the new voting method was agreed upon by both parties, there was some question as to its legality immediately following the settlement. On Monday, however, Judge Terry A. Green assuaged those concerns, ruling that the proposed voting system is a legal one.
While cumulative voting is new to California, it has a long history in other states like Illinois.
As part of settlement, Santa Clarita also agreed to move its council elections from April to November. The Sulphur Springs School District, which was also sued for its at-large system, has decided to move to district-based elections, which is the most common and preferred method for boosting minority representation.
Monday’s ruling paves the way for the Newhall School District as well, which voted to adopt a cumulative voting system earlier this year, provided its legality was upheld.
Read more about Monday’s ruling here.