Burbank to Place Council Election Measures on November 2026 Ballot Following CVRA Settlement
Burbank, CA (April 7, 2026) — The City of Burbank has settled the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) case, Nicholas Gutierrez v. City of Burbank, No. 23STCV25587 (“CVRA Lawsuit”) filed October 19, 2023, challenging the City’s at-large system of electing its council members, and seeking to impose a by-district system.
The City does not believe its at-large electoral system violates the CVRA considering the long history of voters electing Latino and other candidates who are the chosen candidates of Latino voters for at least the last 20 years.
The City believes that its electoral system should be equally open to participation by all citizens providing an equal opportunity to participate in the political process and to elect or influence the election of representatives of their choice. To that end, the City previously expressed interest in exploring alternatives to its current at-large electoral system including ranked choice voting, cumulative voting, limited voting, and by-district elections, the system recently adopted by Burbank Unified School District.
The City is also aware that CVRA litigation is extremely expensive having cost other cities many millions of dollars to defend. Prevailing at trial does not entitle the City to recover its litigation costs, or protect from a costly appeal, or a future CVRA lawsuit. Losing the litigation would obligate the City to pay plaintiff’s attorney fees, likely also in the millions of dollars.
The City has an obligation to be fiscally responsible with taxpayer dollars. It would be imprudent for the City to defend against the CVRA lawsuit if its voters want by-district elections. Letting voters decide is both fiscally prudent and respectful of the voters’ right to decide how their council members should be elected.
The City Council believes that the voters of Burbank should have an opportunity to decide whether or not the City should adopt a by-district electoral system, like the school district. To that end, the City will place two measures on the November 3, 2026, ballot, one of which would amend the City Charter to allow for future flexibility in the process for electing council members, and a second that would allow voters to determine whether council elections should be conducted by district. Implementation of by-district elections for City Council members would require approval of both measures. Additional details regarding a by-district ordinance will return in early summer for Council discussion.
###
