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What San Luis Obispo voters need to know about the new single at-large council vote
Summary
San Luis Obispo will require voters to pick one council candidate (not up to two); the two highest vote-getters win. The city adopted the change after negotiations with voting-rights advocates and will evaluate results from 2026 and 2028.
The City of San Luis Obispo has adopted a single at-large vote for council-member elections. Under the new rule, voters may select only one candidate for council; the two candidates with the most votes are elected. The mayoral election is unchanged.
City officials said the change followed a 2023 letter from a voter-registration advocacy project claiming the at-large system violated the Ley de Derechos Electorales de California. Rather than litigate or adopt district elections, the city negotiated a compromise and approved the single-vote approach after public hearings in November 2024 and January 2026.
Key practical points for voters: do not mark more than one candidate for council (doing so will invalidate the vote in that contest), and expect a city review of the 2026 and 2028 election outcomes that could prompt further changes. The city's informational page is slowcity.org/singlevote.
The transcript did not record the council vote count or name any motion mover or seconder.
