Districting

Under a by-district election system, the City would be divided into four equally (to the extent feasible) populated districts. Each City Council Member must live in a different district, and that person can only be elected by voters living in that district. The Mayor will remain as an at-large, citywide elected position, with the mayoral election occurring every two (2) years.

Currently, the City Council consists of five members: the Mayor and four Council Members. The Mayor is elected by voters citywide (at-large) to serve a two-year term, while Council Members are elected citywide (at-large) to serve four-year terms. Since 2010, both the Mayor and Council Members are limited to serving two terms in office.

Districting determines which neighborhoods and communities are grouped together into a district for the purposes of electing a Council Member. The City Council will seek input in selecting the first by-district election map. You have an opportunity to share with the City Council how you think district boundaries should be drawn to best represent your community, either during the public hearings or by submitting comments to districting@cityoftracy.org.

1. Federal Laws

   • Equal Population (based on the total population of residents as determined by the 2020 Census and adjusted by the State to reassign incarcerated persons to the last known place of residence)

   • Federal Voting Rights Act

   • No Racial Gerrymandering (i.e., manipulating boundaries)

2. California Criteria for Cities (to the extent practicable and in the following order of priority)

   • Geographically contiguous (areas that meet only at the points of adjoining corners are not contiguous, and areas that are separated by water and not connected by a bridge, tunnel, or ferry service are not contiguous)

   • Undivided neighborhoods and “communities of interest” (Socio-economic geographic areas that should be kept together for purposes of its effective and fair representation)

   • Easily identifiable boundaries

   • Compact (Do not bypass one group of people to get to a more distant group of people)

   • Prohibited:
     “Shall not favor or discriminate against a political party.”

3. Other Traditional Districting Principles

   • Respect voters’ choices/continuity in office

   • Future population growth

A Community of Interest (COI) is made up of those with common social or economic interests that should be included within a single district for effective, fair representation. Communities of interest must be considered when deciding how to draw new district boundaries. Communities are best described by those with first‐hand knowledge. We want to hear about your community; you know it best!

Share your specific thoughts, draw a map, or attend an upcoming public hearing to get involved!

• Submit written testimony about the process or share a map or communities of interest to districting@cityoftracy.org.

• Click here to see the calendar of public hearings at which you can speak about the process or a specific map. 

At the public hearings, we want you to:

• Share your story

• Define your neighborhood or community of interest

• Explain why districting is relevant to your community

• Get the tools you need to draw a map of one district or of all four districts

• Share your opinions on the draft maps

• Talk to your neighbors and local organizations

No, you do not need to submit a fully completed map. You can draw boundaries for only your neighborhood or only a portion of the City. It is helpful if you submit written commentary with your map describing why the particular neighborhood or area should be kept together in a single district.

Yes, you may submit more than one map. Please draw as many maps as you like. We suggest submitting only your top 2-3 preferred maps to help the City Council focus on the map that best represents your community; however, there is no limit. When you submit any map after the first one, please let us know if it is meant as a replacement for your earlier map or as an additional map proposal.

Your voice matters. The City of Tracy is hosting Public Hearings and encouraging community input throughout this process. The webpage calendar includes meeting details and resources for each hearing. 

You may also submit questions by email todistricting@cityoftracy.orgor contact the City Clerk’s Office at 209-831-6105.

No. The City Council has not yet made a final decision to transition to by-district elections. At this stage, the Council has adopted a Resolution of Intent to consider by-district elections, which begins a public process required under the California Voting Rights Act. This process includes multiple Public Hearings where residents can share feedback about whether the City should move to districts and, if so, how the district boundaries should be drawn.

Districting is happening now because the City of Tracy, by and through the City Council, is aligning with the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) to ensure fair representation for all residents. Across California, many cities transitioned from at-large to district-based elections after costly legal challenges under the CVRA. To uphold the City’s commitment to fair and inclusive elections and to avoid the potential threat of litigation, the City Council adopted a Resolution of Intent on August 26, 2025, to begin the process of this potential change to by-district elections starting with the November 2026 General Election.

This is not related to the statewide special election on November 4, 2025, regarding Congressional redistricting.

State law does not require a public vote to adopt a by-district election system. Under the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA), an at-large, citywide election system may still be found in violation of the law even if voters oppose the change. For this reason, cities transition to by-district elections through a City Council ordinance rather than a ballot measure.

Even if the voters oppose switching to a by-district election system, an at-large election system can be deemed to be in violation of the California Voting Rights Act. Therefore, state law does not require that a by-district election system ordinance be approved by voters.

After you submit your map todistricting@cityoftracy.org, the demographic consultant will generate the population and other demographic details for your proposed map. Maps will be posted on the City’s website and can be viewed on theInteractive Review Map. Once submitted, maps are considered public records.

If the City Council approves by-district Council Member elections and establishes election districts by early 2026, the November 2026 election for two Council seats will be conducted by district and candidates will need to reside in the district in which they seek to represent. Currently-seated Council Members who are not up for election in November 2026 will continue the remainder of their current terms (serving citywide/at-large), but the next election for those seats will be conducted by district and candidates will need to meet the residency requirements for the districts represented by those seats.

The Federal Voting Rights Act (“FVRA”) was enacted by Congress in 1965 and is intended to protect the rights of all citizens to participate in the voting process. The California Voting Rights Act (“CVRA”) was enacted by the California Legislature in 2001, based on the Legislature’s belief that minorities and other members of protected classes were being denied the opportunity to have representation of their choosing at the local level because of a number of issues associated with at-large elections. Upon finding a violation of the CVRA, a court must “implement appropriate remedies, including the imposition of district-based elections, that are tailored to remedy the violation.” As such, the default remedy specified by the Legislature is district-based elections.

Read about the FVRA and the CVRA.

Dozens of cities, school districts and other local agencies in California have faced similar California Voting Rights Act (“CVRA”) allegations in recent years. Most have voluntarily changed their at-large election system to a by-district election system to avoid litigation. A small number have attempted to defend their at-large election system in the court system. Of the litigation that has concluded to date, none of those agencies have been successful and each of them incurred significant legal costs, because the CVRA gives plaintiffs the right to recover attorney fees. The City of Santa Monica is currently litigating a CVRA case.

Settlements are typically in the six, or even seven, figure range. For example:

• City of Santa Monica - $20m+ currently; still being litigated

• Palmdale: $4.7 million

• Santa Clara: $3.16 million

• Modesto: $3 million

• Highland $1.3 million

• Anaheim $1.1 million

• Whittier: $1 million

• Santa Barbara: $600,000

• Camarillo: $233,000

The threshold to establish liability under the CVRA is much lower than the threshold to establish liability under the FVRA. Courts use a four-part test to determine whether there is a FVRA voting rights violation and that test considers the totality of the circumstances. The courts use a two-part test to determine whether there is a CVRA voting rights violation and that test focuses on statistics.

Pros

• Each geographic area of the city is represented

• Viewpoints that might not be citywide can be represented

• Minority candidates (racial or political) have a better opportunity to be elected

• It will likely cost less to run for City Council because citywide campaigning is not required

• Each voter has a specific Council Member to contact for assistance

• Voter’s choice is simplified with less candidates to learn about

Cons

• Council Members may represent only the interests of their districts, not the whole city

• Candidates may be elected with few votes

• District lines have to be reviewed and possibly redrawn after each census and significant annexation

• Depending on staggered terms, not all voters may be voting each election, reducing overall turnout

The City Council may appoint an eligible elector or may hold the election anyway. If the City Council chooses to fill the seat by appointment, the City Council may solicit applications and publicly interview interested persons in accordance with the City Council’s policy for filling vacancies on the City Council.