Hayward adopted switch to district elections for Council starting in 2026
Responding to concerns raised under the California Voting Rights Act, the Hayward City Council in 2024 approved a switch to a district-based system of electing members of the City Council.
Under the new system to take effect in 2026, non-mayoral seats on the seven-member City Council will be elected by geographic district rather than in at-large, citywide elections. Mayoral elections will remain citywide contests.
The first district elections for Hayward Council are scheduled to take place in November 2026 in Districts 1 and 6 when the terms of the seats held by Councilmembers Julie Roche and George Syrop are set to expire. Council elections in Districts 2, 3, 4 and 5 are scheduled to take place two years later in November 2028.
The move to district elections for Council was taken pursuant to the settlement of a lawsuit brought against Hayward under the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA). The lawsuit contended that at-large elections for municipal office in Hayward unlawfully dilute the voting power of Asian Americans.
To qualify to run for Council in a district election, a candidate must be a resident of the district. To see maps of the new Council districts, go online here on the City of Hayward website.
