The Hayward City Council currently utilizes an at-large election system for its City Council, which means that voters from the entire City elect all six Council members and the Mayor. The council members are eligible to hold office no matter where in the City they reside. A by-district election system, in contrast, is one in which the entire City of Hayward is delineated into separate electoral districts, each with one City Council member who resides in the district and is chosen by the voters residing in that respective district. Districting is the process of transitioning from an at-large to a by-district election system.
As counted by the 2020 Census and adjusted by the Statewide Database, the City of Hayward’s total population for districting is 162,954. To figure out the ‘ideal population’ for each district, take the total population (162,954) and divide it by the number of districts (6), 162,954 ÷ 6 which equals approximately 27,159 persons per district. State and federal law permit some deviation from exact population equality: the deviation should be within plus or minus 5% from the ideal population, not more than +/-1358 persons.
Districting is subject to a constitutional criterion that mandates that districts must be (roughly) equal in population. The districts must also comply with federal law, specifically the Federal Voting Rights Act, which aims to ensure that protected groups, if certain criteria are met, have the ability to elect a candidate of their choice.
California’s FAIRMAPS Act was amended in 2023 to ensure that the same criteria mandated in local redistricting would also be used when jurisdictions transition to by-district elections. The FAIRMAPS Act explains that the purpose of these changes is to “Establish ranked criteria that prioritize keeping whole neighborhoods and communities of interest together, facilitate political organization and constituent representation, and prohibit gerrymandering, including incumbent-protection gerrymandering.”
For more information, please see California Elections Code Section 21100 here.
These are the criteria that must be followed, in order of importance:
- Each district shall contain nearly the same number of people.
- Boundaries shall be drawn in a manner that complies with the United States Constitution and the Federal Voting Rights Act.
- Council districts shall consist of contiguous territory, meaning that it is possible to travel between any two points in the district without leaving the district.
- Council districts shall respect communities of interest and local neighborhoods as much as practicable. Communities of Interest generally refer to a contiguous population that shares common social and economic interests that should be included within a single district for purposes of fair and effective representation.
- Council districts shall follow natural or artificial boundaries, such as streets, and be easily understandable to residents.
- Council districts shall be drawn in a compact manner if it does not conflict with the above criteria, which means that nearby populations shall not be bypassed for more distant groups of persons.
- The process will not favor or disfavor incumbents, candidates and parties. In other words the maps will disregard where incumbents and candidates live, and also disregard the interests of political parties.
In summary, this means the following:
- We will use a mapping program to construct districts after public input has been received.
- Census data will be used to find out how many people live in each part of the city and ensure that each district contains roughly the same number of people.
- We will build a dataset that allows us to preliminarily evaluate whether the district is in compliance with the Federal Voting Rights Act.
- Census geography will be used to ensure that the districts are contiguous.
- We will collect and utilize Community of Interest data and information about where neighborhoods are from the residents of Hayward when drawing districts.
- The district lines will follow census geography, which uses visible features such as streets, to ensure that the districts are easily understandable.
- We will assess the districts for compactness and make possible adjustments if these do not negatively impact the higher-ranked criteria.
- We will not use any address information for current council members or potential candidates or use political party affiliation or information in the drawing of districts.
If you have more questions, we are available to answer them!
- You can attend the City Council public hearings.
- Or email your question to: districting@hayward-ca.gov or fill out the contact form
- Or call us: (510) 583-4444
The timeline for meetings is available on the Schedule webpage.
The districting process is designed to be as transparent and accessible as possible. Share your specific thoughts, draw a map, or attend a public meeting to get involved.
- Click here to see the calendar of public hearings.
- Click here for information on drawing and submitting maps.
- Click here to view the draft maps once they are made available.
Yes! You can do that by using our online redistricting tool. Please visit the Draw a Map webpage to view the mapping software and user guide.
We would like to hear from you so we can make informed decisions about where to draw the new district lines. Specifically, we need information from you about your neighborhoods and Communities of Interest. You are the expert who knows your community and neighborhood! If we know the geographic locations of the Communities of Interest, we can consider them when drawing lines and we won’t inadvertently split them! Keeping communities together in the same district can help to get more responsive representation.
Districts are drawn using the total population as counted by the last census and adjusted by California’s Statewide Database, the Redistricting Database for the State of California. Everyone who was counted, regardless of age, residency status or other demographics, and is included in the Statewide Database must be assigned to a district. Districts are not drawn on the basis of the number of eligible voters, registered voters or citizens.
One of the criteria used for drawing maps is called “Communities of Interest” or “COI.”
A “community of interest” is a population that shares common social or economic interests that should be included within a single election district for purposes of its effective and fair representation. Characteristics of communities of interest may include, but are not limited to, shared public policy concerns such as education, public safety, public health, environment, housing, transportation, and access to social services. Characteristics of communities of interest may also include, but are not limited to, cultural districts, shared socioeconomic characteristics, similar voter registration rates and participation rates, and shared histories. Communities of interest do not include relationships with political parties, incumbents, or political candidates.
Because there are no census datasets available to identify communities of interest, we would appreciate your help defining them for the City of Hayward.
We have helpful materials available on submitting COIs on the COI webpage. Please submit your COI by May 29, 2024, to be considered in the first draft map(s). We welcome input on the maps or the districting generally at any point throughout the process.
There are two main pieces of legislation that govern the districting process:
Submit maps and information regarding communities of interest:
Email: districting@hayward-ca.gov
Mail or drop-off in person: City of Hayward, 4th Floor, c/o City Clerk’s Office, 777 B Street, Hayward, California 94541