The Rancho Cordova City Council will take a major step next week toward finalizing a district-based election system. On Sept. 18, the council is expected to adopt one of the proposed maps, which would create five council districts and a rotating mayor. Final adoption is expected in October.
Rancho Cordova is under legal pressure to drop its at-large voting system. In a June petition, Attorney Scott Rafferty warned that the city was potentially violating the California Voting Rights Act.
“The at-large method of electing the city council has impaired the ability of Rancho Cordova’s Latino and Black minorities, who often vote as a coalition, to influence the outcome of city council elections,” Rafferty said.
The switch will make Rancho Cordova the third city in Sacramento County to have adopted district elections under threat of a CVRA lawsuit. According to the National Demographics Corporation, the CVRA has led to district-based elections in 191 cities and 275 school districts.