§ 11642 District Ward Division Rules

This law requires that before an election the board must split a proposed district into five wards, each containing roughly the same number of voters, and it allows the board to split public agencies or other lands to draw those ward lines.

Key Takeaways

•The district must be divided into exactly five wards.
•Each ward should have about the same number of voters.
•Boundaries can cut through public agencies or other territories to achieve equal voter counts.

Example

A city is creating a new special district for a public park and must decide how to divide it before the vote.

The board counts all voters in the district, splits that total by five to find the target number of voters per ward, and draws ward boundaries so each ward has about that many voters, even if it means cutting through city departments or other territories.

How to Calculate

Voters per ward = Total voters ÷ 5

Count the total number of voters in the proposed district.
Divide that total by 5 to get the target number of voters per ward.
Draw ward boundaries so each ward contains approximately that many voters.

The district has 12,500 registered voters.

Result: 2500

Before calling the election the board of supervisors shall divide the proposed district into five wards, the boundaries of which shall be so drawn that each shall contain approximately an equal number of voters, as nearly as may be. The public agencies and any other territory included in the proposed district may be divided for the purpose of establishing ward boundaries. (Enacted by Stats. 1951, Ch. 764.)

Key Takeaways

•The district must be divided into exactly five wards.
•Each ward should have about the same number of voters.
•Boundaries can cut through public agencies or other territories to achieve equal voter counts.

Example

A city is creating a new special district for a public park and must decide how to divide it before the vote.

How to Calculate

Voters per ward = Total voters ÷ 5

Count the total number of voters in the proposed district.
Divide that total by 5 to get the target number of voters per ward.
Draw ward boundaries so each ward contains approximately that many voters.

The district has 12,500 registered voters.

Result: 2500

Key Takeaways

Example

How to Calculate

Key Terms

References

§ 11642 District Ward Division Rules

Key Takeaways

Example

How to Calculate

Key Terms

References

Key Takeaways

Example

How to Calculate

Key Terms

Related Statutes

References

Key Takeaways

Example

How to Calculate

Key Terms

Related Statutes

References