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Your Voice, Your Belmont - Join the Districting Conversation

The City of Belmont is preparing to transition from having five councilmembers elected at-large to having four councilmembers elected by-district and a mayor elected at-large. The first by-district elections of councilmembers will be held  in November 2022. To enable by-district elections, the City Council must first create four districts within the city.  This process, known as “districting”, requires the public’s participation to define the boundaries of four election districts that are balanced in size and reflect the interest of the communities within those districts. U.S. Census Bureau Data from 2020, the most recent census, will be used during this process to ensure equal representation by each elected official.

Districting determines which neighborhoods and communities are grouped into a district for purposes of electing a councilmember. The City Council will seek input in selecting the district map based on the communities within Belmont, and how they can be empowered through the process. Every resident will have an opportunity to share with the City Council how they think district boundaries should be drawn to best represent their community.

Transitioning to district based elections will ensure the method of electing councilmembers complies with the California Voting Rights Act and will resolve a legal challenge to the current at-large election process.

The City of Belmont urges you to engage in the process by attending an upcoming meeting, reacting to the proposed maps or visiting a pop-up information booth.

Below is a schedule of upcoming opportunities to engage in the process.

Community Outreach Presentation

• February 19, 2022 10 a.m. Twin Pines Senior Center

City Council Public Hearings
Held virtually, Login to: https://belmont-gov.zoom.us/  Meeting ID: 95745673035.

• February 22, 2022 (Second Draft Map Presentation)
• March 8, 2022 (Introduced)

Pop-Up Informational Booth

Legal Challenge to Electing Councilmembers at Large

On July 30, 2021, the City of Belmont received a letter from Attorney Kevin Shenkman on behalf of Southwest Voter Registration Education Project members residing in Belmont alleging that the city's at-large election system violates the California Voting Rights Act of 2001 (CVRA) and demanding the city change to its at-large method of electing councilmembers. The CVRA was passed in 2002, prohibits at-large elections when it can be shown that they impair the ability of a protected class to elect candidates of their choice or to influence elections in a significant way.  The standard of proof required to demonstrate a violation of the CVRA is low and a prevailing plaintiff entitled to attorney’s fees and costs which can be millions of dollars. Except for one case still in litigation, no city has successfully defended a challenge under the CVRA to an at-large election system.

On November 9, 2021 the Council adopted a resolution outlining the city’s intention to transition from at-large to district-based elections with a directly elected mayor, specifying the steps to facilitate the transition, and estimating the timeframe for doing so.

To learn more about Districting please visit the City Website 

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