Local elections in Santa Clara might be conducted differently come 2018.
A legal complaint was filed against the city in March, alleging that Santa Clara’s voting system discriminates against Asian-Americans.
Santa Clara -- like 90 percent of the state’s cities -- votes using an at-large system, in which all voters can vote for all open seats during an election. The other 10 percent of cities conduct district elections, where voters cast a ballot only for candidates who live in their jurisdiction.
Robert Rubin, the civil rights attorney leading the legal complaint, said at-large elections make it harder for minorities to get elected.
“With a district system, you can draw a district with a majority of minority voters,” Rubin said. “So minority populations can enjoy representation somewhat proportional to their population.”
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Rubin’s legal complaint is backed by the California Voting Rights Act, which states that cities with sizable minority populations should abandon at-large voting systems and switch to districts. Rubin has gotten nearly a dozen cities, counties and school districts in the state to make the conversion.