Starting with the November 5, 2024 General election and every four years thereafter, voters will elect one Council Member to represent the district in which they live. The Council Member must reside in the same district and will be elected by the voters residing there.

To ensure a smooth transition and to honor the terms of Council Members elected in 2022, the City Council set the following sequence for electing Council Members in the new system.

Please refer to the chart below:

To find your district of residence, click the website button below and type your address in the toolbar.

 While the district formation process is now complete, you may view archived information regarding the transition process from at-large to by-district elections:

 Transition to By-District Election Information (ENGLISH) 

Proceso de Transición de Elecciones Generales a Elecciones por Distrito (SPANISH)

광역 선거구에서 선거구별 선거로 전환하는 과정 (KOREAN) 

At-large election systems permit all voters in the City to vote to elect all Council Members.

By-district elections distribute the City’s population into approximately equal-sized voting districts. Voters in each district elect one Council Member who must also live in that district. This is the system that Cypress will use starting with the November 2024 election.

The California Voting Rights Act is a State law that prohibits the use of any election system “that impairs the ability of a protected class to elect candidates of its choice or its ability to influence the outcome of an election.” Jurisdictions can be sued if they elect their governing body using an election system that violates the CVRA. If the court rules against a jurisdiction, the jurisdiction must change its election system and pay the plaintiff’s attorneys, experts, and other related expenses.

A class of voters who are members of a race, color, or language minority group, as referenced and defined in the Federal Voting Rights Act.

The CVRA was adopted in 2002 and is based upon the Federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (FVRA), with some important differences that make at-large election systems much more susceptible to legal challenges. 

For a plaintiff to successfully claim a violation under the FVRA relating to at-large elections, the plaintiff must show that:

1.    a minority group is sufficiently large and geographically compact to form a majority of the eligible voters in a single-member district;
2.    there is racially polarized voting; and
3.    there is a “white bloc voting” (the term used by the courts reviewing such cases) that votes sufficiently as a bloc to defeat the minority group’s preferred candidates.  

If a plaintiff proves these three elements, then the federal court will consider whether, under the “totality of circumstances,” the votes of minority voters are diluted by the at-large election system.

The CVRA removes two of these factors. It eliminates what is known as the “geographically compact” FVRA precondition (e.g., can a majority-minority district be drawn) as well as the “totality of the circumstances” or “reasonableness” test.

In September 2021, Cypress residents Malini Nagpal and Kathryn Shapiro, represented by Southwest Voter Registration Education Project (SVREP), a Texas-based Latino voter registration non-profit, asserted that the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) prohibits Cypress’ use of an at-large election arguing, it impairs the ability of a protected class to elect candidates of its choice or otherwise influence the outcome of an election.

Adopted in 2001, the CVRA has been employed across California to coerce cities and other small local governments to adopt by-district elections. 

While the City disputes the plaintiffs’ claim, it conducted outreach to understand the community’s opinion of Cypress’ system for electing Council Members. Through public forums and a survey, residents made it clear they preferred an at-large election system that ensures their right to vote for all five Council Members. 

In July 2022, the plaintiffs sued the City to force it to switch to by-district elections. The lawsuit sought to limit residents to vote for one Council Member every four years from the district in which they reside.

Honoring residents’ input from community outreach it conducted, the City defended Cypress’ at-large election system while acknowledging that no city has ever prevailed against a CVRA lawsuit.

In September 2023, the California Supreme Court reversed the only successful defense of a CVRA claim by a local government when it ruled against the City of Santa Monica in a lawsuit by Pico Neighborhood Association and Maria Loya.

The Santa Monica ruling significantly reduced the likelihood that Cypress’ at-large election could be found to comply with CVRA. As a result, the City agreed to transition to by-district elections.

• The City will transition to by-district elections beginning with the November 2024 City Council election.

• The City is able to work with the community to establish districts, rather than have a court dictate the districts.

• Using a public hearing process (in accordance with Elections Code § 10010) the City will adopt five electoral districts. The public hearing process will provide residents the opportunity to submit maps for consideration.

• The City must select an electoral map no later than February 26, 2024, and identify the districts that will elect Council Members in November 2024 and 2026.

• The district with the highest percentage of Asian American voters, measured by citizen voting age population estimates, must be one of the two districts to elect its Council Member in November 2024.

• The district map and election sequence adopted following the public hearing process will govern elections between 2024 and 2030. Note: The City will update the electoral map in conformance with state and federal law following the release of data from the 2030 decennial census.

• The agreement also provides the City unique, and important, protections against uncontested elections. For example, if the pattern of uncontested elections recently documented throughout Orange County emerges in Cypress, the City has the option to switch to a ranked choice or cumulative voting election system if three of the seven contests to elect Council Members through 2028 are uncontested, or if five of the 10 contests through 2030 are uncontested. Similarly, if California permits alternative at-large election systems under the CVRA, the City may seek to change away from the by-district election system.

• The agreement does not change Council Members’ term limits or any other provisions of the City Charter.

The CVRA has been repeatedly used throughout California to force cities to adopt by-district election systems. Plaintiffs may closely examine a jurisdiction for potential CVRA challenges if the jurisdiction exhibits a history of electoral losses by minority candidates, or a history of unresolved issues disproportionately affecting a minority community (e.g., affordable housing, street and sidewalk maintenance, juvenile crime, etc.), coupled with a significant proportion of the population that are ethnic or racial minorities.

The threshold to establish liability under the CVRA is considered low. The Federal Voting Rights Act requires three conditions to be met plus, the “totality of circumstances”, to prove a city is not in compliance. Whereas, the CVRA has only two conditions to prove a violation. Because the CVRA eliminates some of the federal conditions that a plaintiff must prove, defending a CVRA lawsuit is more challenging than contesting a claim under the FVRA. As a result of the lower threshold for proving a claim under the CVRA, many jurisdictions have voluntarily switched to by-district election systems rather than face litigation.

CVRA challenges are considered no-risk litigation for plaintiffs. The CVRA mandates the award of costs, attorney’s fees, and expert expenses to prevailing plaintiffs. Prevailing defendants, however, are not treated so kindly. Prevailing defendants can be reimbursed for attorney’s fees and litigation costs only if the court finds a suit to be “frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation.” This is an extremely high burden of proof.

No. The CVRA applies to cities without making any explicit distinction between general law or charter cities. (Elec. Code 14026(c)) A charter can provide for a form of government or election system for a city that is different from the general law, but charter cities are subject to the California Constitution and are prohibited from adopting or maintaining a discriminatory election system or electoral practices.

Enacting an at-large election system by ballot measure (or rejecting a by-district election system by ballot measure) will not protect a city. Indeed, voter rejection of a by-district election system may increase the risk to the jurisdiction by serving as proof of a violation of the CVRA if the by-district election system was rejected in an election characterized by a racially polarized vote.

If Cypress experiences a trend of uncontested elections after transitioning to by-district elections, the City has the option to switch to a ranked choice or cumulative voting election system. Similarly, if California permits alternative at-large election systems under the CVRA, the City may seek to change away from the by-district election system.

Yes. Cities smaller than Cypress have transitioned to by-district elections.

In a by-district system, each voter has one vote to cast and can vote for the Council Member who will represent their district. Furthermore, districts will be on a staggered election cycle, so voters will cast ballots electing their Council Member every four years.

Yes. The district map must be evaluated every 10 years when new census data is available. If population changes occur, district boundaries are adjusted to maintain balance and representation.

The by-district election system will go into effect beginning November 2024.

The district map and election sequence adopted following the public hearing process will govern elections between 2024 and 2030.

A transition to districts will not immediately affect the current City Council. Each Council Member will serve out his/her term.

No. The City Charter term limits remain in place.

The City Council would follow the provisions in the City Charter.

A community of interest is a neighborhood or community that would benefit from being in the same district because of shared interests, views, or characteristics.

Possible community features or boundary definitions include:

• School attendance areas
• Natural neighborhood dividing lines such as roads, hills or highways
• Areas around parks and other landmarks
• Common issues, neighborhood activities or legislative concerns
• Shared demographic characteristics, such as:
  • Similar levels of income, education, or linguistic isolation
  • Ancestry (not race or ethnicity)
  • Languages spoken at home
  • Percentage of immigrants
  • Single-family and multifamily housing units

There are several organizations with information on this topic, which we have provided links to below:

State of California - We Draw The Lines
Brennan Center for Justice
Mexican American Legal Defense & Education Fund

Cypress residents Malini Nagpal and Kathryn Shapiro, represented by Southwest Voter Registration Education Project (SVREP), a Texas-based Latino voter registration non-profit.

The lawsuit referenced the 2012, 2014 and 2020 elections. The City’s elections video provides some information about these elections.

No. The CVRA prohibits the use of any election system “that impairs the ability of a protected class to elect candidates of its choice or its ability to influence the outcome of an election."

In September 2021, Cypress residents Malini Nagpal and Kathryn Shapiro, represented by Southwest Voter Registration Education Project (SVREP), a Texas-based Latino voter registration non-profit, asserted that the City’s at-large election system is prohibited under the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA). Adopted in 2001, CVRA has been employed across California to force cities and other small local governments to adopt by-district elections.

While the City disputes the plaintiffs’ claim, it conducted outreach to understand the community’s opinion of Cypress’ system for electing Council Members. Through public forums and a survey, residents made it clear they preferred an at-large election system that ensures their right to vote for all five Council Members.

In July 2022, the plaintiffs sued the City to force it to switch to by-district elections, which would mean that residents elect one Council Member every four years from the district in which they reside, instead of selecting all five Council Members as they have throughout the City’s history.

Honoring residents’ input from community outreach it conducted, the City has defended Cypress’ at-large election system while acknowledging that no city has ever prevailed against a CVRA lawsuit.

In September 2023, the California Supreme Court reversed the only successful defense of a CVRA claim by a local government when it ruled against the City of Santa Monica in a lawsuit by Pico Neighborhood Association and Maria Loya.

The Santa Monica ruling significantly reduced the likelihood that Cypress’ at-large election could be found to comply with CVRA. As a result, the City participated in advisory mediation to reassess its ability to defend the lawsuit to force Cypress into by-district elections. The mediation was conducted with the assistance of a retired judge with extensive CVRA experience.

While the City remains confident that Cypress’ at-large election system effectively represents the entire community, it is also clear that there have been consequential changes to circumstances surrounding the lawsuit since the City began defending against it. This includes taking into account the opinions of an experienced mediator and reviewing data regarding the 2022 City Council election (an election that occurred more than a year after plaintiffs made their claim against the City).