San Luis Obispo voters will use a new singlevote system to elect city council members in the upcoming November general election.
Under the change, voters will cast a vote for only one candidate when multiple council seats are on the ballot. The top two votegetters citywide will win the two open seats.
The main thing we want to remind everyone is vote for 1. The top 2 win. If you vote for 2, your ballot won’t count, said Natalie Harnett, Policy and Project Manager for the City of San Luis Obispo.
The city said the switch was prompted after it received a notice from the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project alleging the previous atlarge system violated the California Voting Rights Act. The notice claimed the earlier method diluted minority votes, particularly Latino votes.
City officials stressed the change is not meant to be complicated.
We understand that this is a big shift for a lot of people, especially those that have lived in the community for a long time. The thing about citywide single vote is that in many ways it is familiar, Harnett said.
A virtual meeting Wednesday night was the first of six informational sessions the city plans to hold to explain how the new voting method works. San Luis Obispo City Manager Whitney MacDonald said that about 10 residents attended the kickoff session.
Any attendance is good, she said, adding she hopes those who attended will help spread the word.
One person in the meeting asked whether the information would be available in Spanish. The city confirmed materials will be posted on the citys website in Spanish.
City officials say early feedback suggests the new approach is straightforward.
The feedback we’ve gotten so far is that it’s clear, it’s simple, it’s easy to understand, Harnett said.
Officials urge voters to pay attention to the new instructions on the ballot so their votes count in November.
For more information on future meetings, click here.