District Based City Council Elections (2018 Districting)

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On December 17, 2018, the City of Pacifica adopted Ordinance No. 839-C.S. approving the transition from at-large to by-district elections for the election of Pacifica City Councilmembers beginning with the general municipal election in November 2020 and thereafter. With district-based elections, each of five councilmembers will be elected by voters within that candidate's district. The City Council selected the sequencing of elections for the districts such that District 1 and District 4 will hold elections for City Council seats in November 2020. Districts 2, 3 and 5 will be up for election for City Council seats in November 2022.

District Map

Find Your District

The link below provides an interactive map on which you can enter your address to determine the district in which you reside. This interactive map is best viewed using Google maps. Click the link below to open in your browser or in the Google Maps app.

Interactive District Map

Voting for City Council in November 2020

If you reside in District 1 or District 4 (use the Interactive Map above to determine your district) and are registered to vote at that address, you may vote for the City Council seat for your district in the November 2020 general municipal election.

Why the City Is Changing from At-Large to By-District Elections

A key reason the City of Pacifica initiated the process to transition from an at-large election system to a district-based election system was due to the threat of significant litigation under the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA).

On August 20, 2018, the City of Pacifica received a letter from Kevin Shenkman alleging that the City's at-large election system violated the California Voting Rights Act. Most of the California cities that have transitioned to district-based elections in the last few years have done so as a result of similar legal challenges brought under the CVRA. Faced with potentially hundreds-of-thousands, or even millions, of dollars in legal fees and damages as some cities have experienced, the City of Pacifica decided to voluntarily proceed with transitioning to district-based elections to allow the City of retain its own ability to determine and adopt an appropriate district map instead of having the risk of a court doing so.

The City's voluntary transition to district-based elections does not imply that the City or its Council had acted in a discriminatory manner previously by holding at-large elections.

Additional Information about the City of Pacifica Districting Process

Following the September 24, 2018 City Council meeting at which a resolution of intent to transition from at-large to by-district elections was adopted (Resolution 44-2018), the City of Pacifica conducted significant public outreach through postcard mailers, newspaper advertisements in the Pacifica Tribune, the City's website, a project website developed specifically for the districting process at www.drawpacifica.org, the City's Facebook and NextDoor accounts, and the weekly "Connect With Pacifica" e-newsletter to engage the public to provide input into the process of determining the districts.

The City held four public hearings during the districting process: October 8, 2018; October 22, 2018; November 17, 2018 and November 29, 2018 to receive public input and invited the public to submit draft district maps for consideration. Draft maps were published in City Council Agenda materials and on the project website at www.drawpacifica.org.

The project website also provided the public an interactive tool to view and create draft maps in the districting process. The ordinance to transition from at-large elections to district-based elections for City Council was introduced at the December 10, 2018 City Council meeting and was subsequently adopted with the selected district map and elections sequencing at the December 17, 2018 City Council meeting.

Links to City Council agenda materials can be found below.

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