The change is due to a settlement with the group Southwest Voter Registration Education Project.
The organization alleged in 2023 that San Luis Obispo’s Latino vote was unfairly diluted, because city council members weren’t elected to represent individual districts.
The city argued that minority communities are too geographically dispersed to create districts that would increase their voting power. According to a city website, 23.2% of San Luis Obispo’s population is Hispanic.
San Luis Obispo and the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project settled over the issue in 2024. The compromise was a single, citywide vote for council member seats.
The new system is designed to keep majority groups from deciding more than one city council seat at a time.
If 80% of voters like a hypothetical candidate “Person A” and 20% like “Person B”, both candidates will win seats under the new system, coming in first and second place.
Whereas under the previous voting system, majority groups would be able to vote twice for their favorite candidates to fill two seats, theoretically leaving a minority of voters without representation on the council.
In an opinion piece for The San Luis Obispo Tribune, Mayor Erica A. Stewart said the city will watch the 2026 election results closely and will adjust if needed.
The city of San Luis Obispo will hold a community meeting about the change on May 12 at the Ludwick Community Center.
