11102022 BOD CRPD Intent to Division

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS Nellie Cusworth, Chair Susan L. Holt, Vice Chair George M. Lange, Director Chuck Huffer, Director Doug Nickles, Director GENERAL MANAGER EMERITUS Tex Ward GENERAL MANAGER Jim Friedl ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES 403 West Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360-4223 805-495-6471 | Fax: 805-497-3199 | parks@crpd.org | www.crpd.org DATE: November 10, 2022 TO: Board of Directors FROM: Jim Friedl, General Manager SUBJECT: Resolution of Intent to Transition to “By-Director Division” Elections RECOMMENDATION Adopt Resolution Number 111022-A declaring intent to transition from “at-large” to “by-director division” elections and outlining the specific steps to facilitate the transition. BACKGROUND The District presently has an “at-large” electoral system; the entire jurisdiction votes for each member of the District Board. This is in contrast to a “by-division” election system; where the jurisdiction is divided into divisions, a Board candidate must reside within an election division and is elected only by voters residing within that election division. In recent years, a number of public agencies in California have been sued under the California Voting Rights Act (“CVRA”). Typically, plaintiffs allege that the defendant agency’s at-large electoral system has resulted in “voting in which there is a difference . . . in the choice of candidates of other electoral choices that are preferred by voters in a protected class, and in the choice of candidates and electoral choices that are preferred by voters in the rest of the electorate.” These lawsuits usually demand that the defendant agency transition to a by- district/by-division system. In 2016, the California legislature established a “safe harbor” from CVRA litigation for public agencies. AB 350 amended Elections Code section 10010 to cap the attorneys’ fees a prospective plaintiff may recover if a public agency adopts a resolution of intention to change to a by-district/by- division system of elections within 45 days following the receipt of a letter from that prospective plaintiff alleging a CVRA violation and follows a specified process and timeline for completing the transition.