A lawsuit was recently filed against the City of San Luis Obispo, alleging its at-large voting system dilutes minority votes.
Those allegations were made by the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project (SVREP), prompting the city council in November to approve switching to a Citywide Single Vote system. According to an elections expert hired by the city, Citywide Single Vote will — in theory — allow the 19% Latino population in San Luis Obispo to have a greater voice in city council elections.
“I think the spirit of the issue is, how do we help people have their voice?" said San Luis Obispo Mayor Erica A. Stewart. "The citywide voting was the closest way we could actually get to that outcome.”
While SVREP agreed to the switch to a Citywide Single Vote, the organization's attorney, Kevin Shenkman, says it needs to be signed off by a judge. He says that means they still had to file a complaint, which they did on December 31.
“Because of the way that voting systems in the law works, we probably need judicial sign-off,” Shenkman said.
Under the city's previous at-large voting system, voters voted for two city council candidates and elected two city council candidates. Under the new system, voters will vote for one candidate and the top two vote-getters will be elected.
SVREP had proposed a district-based election system instead, but the city's expert said that dividing the city into districts could actually reduce voter equity because of the city's unique demographics.
Shenkman has a history of successful claims against other cities using the California Voting Registration Act as the framework for his cases. He admitted that there was a similar case in Alameda County where the City of Albany eliminated its at-large election practices in exchange for a ranked-choice voting alternative.
“I did not think that ranked-choice voting was going to work," Shenkman said. "I was pleasantly surprised in the 2022 election that followed. It did [work].”
If the new Citywide Single Vote does not improve voter dilution in 2026 and 2028, the City of San Luis Obispo will switch to a district-based system. However, Mayor Stewart thinks that shouldn’t be their only option.
“The law could be expanded to what works best in your community to help people and those with different identities to have their voice,” Stewart said.
In an email to KSBY News reporter Dylan Foreman, City Attorney Christine Dietrick explained that the lawsuit filing is procedural. She said the city will file an answer to SVREP's complaint this week denying all allegations of a California Voting Rights Act violation. This is expected to be followed by the filing of a stipulated judgment directing the city to transition to the Citywide Single Vote starting in November 2026.
