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Election method focus of Fresno Unified hearing

Board is looking at moving away from at-large voting to avoid lawsuits.

Posted at 10:30 PM on Tuesday, Sep. 22, 2009

By Tracy Correa / The Fresno Bee
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Fresno Unified School District will hold a public hearing today to discuss changing the way school board trustees will be elected in 2012.

The school district is considering changing to elections in which voters must live in the same area as the trustee they are electing. Many other districts have adopted that method in order to avoid lawsuits under the state's Voting Rights Act.

The hearing is scheduled to begin at 8:20 p.m. as part of Fresno Unified's regular board meeting.

Currently, trustees are elected at-large, but the district is divided into trustee areas, with trustees required to live in the areas they represent. For example, a voter in the Bullard High area can vote for a trustee who will serve the Roosevelt High neighborhood. Fresno Unified considers its current election method a hybrid system.

Many districts have changed the way they elect members after coming under fire under the 2002 Voting Rights Act, which requires public agencies to allow elections by districts if it's proven that at-large elections -- in which all voters can vote for any candidate -- lessen the chances for a minority candidate to win.

Hispanic activists have pushed for the change, saying candidates favored by minorities lose elections to white candidates who have the money to finance large, citywide campaigns.

The San Francisco-based Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights has been filing lawsuits challenging at-large elections, including against Madera Unified. Madera settled the lawsuit and changed its election method this year. Hanford Joint Union High School District also changed to voting by district after it was sued five years ago.

Fresno Unified trustees are not expected to take action today. A vote on the change is scheduled Oct. 14.


The reporter can be reached at tcorrea@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6378.

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