HAYWARD, Calif., April 18, 2024—The Hayward City Council voted Tuesday to initiate a process that would allow the City to move to a district-based approach to electing Councilmembers instead of at-large elections as currently called for under the Hayward City Charter. 

The Council took the action Tuesday on the advice of legal counsel following the filing of a lawsuit asserting the City’s citywide system of conducting elections for seats on the Council is diluting the ability of Asian-Pacific Islander community members to elect candidates of their choice. 

The process for moving from at-large to district-based elections provided for under the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) establishes an initial 90-day timeline and procedures for drawing geographic voting districts involving demographic research and public hearings to provide multiple opportunities for community feedback and input. 

On April 10, the Hayward Unified School District Board of Trustees, facing a similar legal challenge, adopted a resolution stating its intent to move to a geographic district-based system of electing school board Trustees. 

The Hayward City Council resolution of intent to move district-based elections adopted Tuesday was approved with direction to staff to begin work to complete the process of drawing voting districts by July 15—with the expectation the City would not begin electing Councilmembers by district until November 2026.