By Giana Magnoli, Noozhawk News Editor | @magnoli | Published on 02.28.2015 12:26 p.m. Lawsuit settlement requires six separate City Council districts, two of which must have a majority of Latino eligible voters Now that the City of Santa Barbara has settled a lawsuit and agreed to start using district elections beginning in November, the City Council wants input on [ More... ]

Santa Barbara City Council members unanimously voted in closed session Tuesday afternoon to approve the partial settlement of a lawsuit that alleged the city was violating the California Voting Rights Act by holding at-large City Council elections.

The City of Santa Barbara agreed this last week to fundamentally change the way is holds elections. The city will now conduct “by-district” elections after settling a lawsuit that claimed the city was violating the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) by holding “at-large” elections. (Banales, et al. v. City of Santa Barbara. County of Santa Barbara, Case No. 1468167, July [ More... ]

Court Schedules April Trial for Santa Barbara District Elections Case By Giana Magnoli, Noozhawk News Editor | Published 01.28.2015 The question of whether Santa Barbara has violated the California Voting Rights Act by holding at-large City Council elections is scheduled to be heard by a Superior Court judge in April. Judge Donna Geck set an April 6 trial date [ More... ]