When a California county redistricts and a vacancy election happens in between, do the new boundaries apply to the vacancy race, and how long does the winner serve?

Plain-English summary

San Luis Obispo County had a problem of timing. Supervisor Adam Hill won re-election in 2020 to a four-year term in District Three using boundaries adopted in 2011. He passed away in August 2020. The Governor appointed Dawn Ortiz-Legg to fill the vacancy. In December 2021, the Board of Supervisors adopted new district boundaries based on the 2020 census. A vacancy election was scheduled for June 2022 to fill the rest of the original term. Which boundaries applied to that 2022 election? And would the winner serve two years (the remainder of the term) or a fresh four years?

Attorney General Rob Bonta said the 2011 boundaries control the 2022 vacancy election, and the winner serves only two years. Elections Code section 21506(b) says new boundaries apply at the "first election for county supervisors" after adoption, "excluding a special election to fill a vacancy or recall election." A vacancy election is not the first regular election for the seat post-redistricting; it is a different beast. The 2024 election (a regular election in District Three's normal cycle) will be the first one to use the 2021 boundaries.

On the term length question, the AG drew on a 2014 opinion about parallel city council vacancy issues. When you fill the remainder of an unexpired term, you get the remainder, not a fresh term. The 2022 winner serves through January 2025, when the original four-year term Adam Hill was re-elected to in 2020 expires.

What this means for you

These conclusions reflect the law as the AG read it in December 2021. Verify that Elections Code section 21506 has not been further amended and no later case has shifted the analysis before relying on a specific procedural detail.

County clerks and registrars administering a vacancy election after redistricting

Under § 21506(b), the boundaries in effect when the original incumbent was elected continue to govern the vacancy election. The opinion treats vacancy elections as carved out of the "first election following adoption of new boundaries" rule that triggers the new map.

Candidates in a county vacancy election

The opinion holds that the boundaries that elected the prior incumbent govern, not the just-adopted post-census boundaries. The opinion further holds that a vacancy-election winner serves only the remainder of the original term, not a fresh four-year term.

County counsel

The opinion is direct AG authority for the propositions that (i) vacancy elections use the boundaries in effect when the original incumbent was elected and (ii) the vacancy winner serves only the remainder of the original term.

Voters near a district boundary

During a vacancy election, the old district map controls; voter assignment for the regular post-redistricting cycle will reflect the new map starting at the next regular election.

Common questions

Q: Why doesn't the new map apply to the vacancy election?
A: Elections Code section 21506(b) explicitly carves out vacancy elections from the "first election after adoption of new boundaries" rule that triggers the new map. The Legislature wanted the regular election cycle to drive when new boundaries take effect, not the happenstance of when an incumbent leaves office.

Q: How long does the vacancy-election winner actually serve?
A: Only the remainder of the original four-year term. In the SLO scenario, that meant from the June 2022 election through January 2025, when the original term was set to expire. To continue serving past January 2025, the winner has to run again at the next regular election (under the new 2021 boundaries).

Q: Why does the appointee serve until the next general election rather than the next regular election for the seat?
A: Government Code sections 25060 and 25061 require an appointment to fill a board of supervisors vacancy, with the appointee serving until a successor is elected at the "next general election." That is broader than just the regular cycle for the seat; if the next general election occurs at the midpoint of the four-year term, that is when the vacancy election happens.

Q: Does this rule apply to charter counties or only general law counties?
A: The opinion is squarely about a general law county and relies on Government Code sections that govern boards of supervisors generally. Charter counties may have their own provisions in their charters that override default state law. Charter county counsel should verify against the local charter.

Q: Does the boundary rule apply if there are no candidates living in the new district under the old boundaries?
A: The opinion does not address that hypothetical. The candidate residency requirement attaches to the district in effect for that election, and the AG concluded the old boundaries are in effect for the vacancy election. If there is a residency mismatch, that is a factual scenario for the elections officials and county counsel to work through.

Background and statutory framework

In a general law California county, the board of supervisors has five members elected to four-year, staggered terms. Government Code section 24203 sets the four-year term; section 25000(a) sets the five-member board; section 25040 establishes that each supervisor represents a district. Sections 25060 and 25061 govern vacancies: the Governor must appoint, and the appointee serves until a successor is elected at the next general election.

Redistricting follows each federal decennial census, with the board of supervisors adopting new boundaries to make district populations substantially equal. Elections Code section 21506(b) governs which boundaries apply to elections after redistricting:

At the first election for county supervisors in each county following adoption of the boundaries of supervisorial districts, excluding a special election to fill a vacancy or recall election, a supervisor shall be elected for [the new term].

The "excluding a special election to fill a vacancy or recall election" clause was the key textual hook for the AG's analysis. The boundaries change with the regular election cycle, not with vacancy or recall elections.

The opinion also relied on a 2014 AG opinion (the citation is in the original) addressing similar questions for city council vacancies. The principle that a vacancy-election winner serves only the remainder of the original term, not a fresh term, derives from Government Code sections 24201 and 25060-25061 read together.

Two practical effects: first, the 2022 SLO District Three election was conducted with the 2011 maps. Second, the winner served only through January 2025, when the original Adam Hill term expired, and then had to re-run at the November 2024 regular election under the new 2021 boundaries.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• California Government Code section 24203 (four-year terms for supervisors)
• California Government Code section 25000(a) (five-member board)
• California Government Code section 25040 (supervisors represent districts)
• California Government Code section 25060 (Governor appointment to fill vacancy)
• California Government Code section 25061 (appointee serves until successor elected)
• California Elections Code section 21506(b) (when new boundaries apply, vacancy carve-out)
• California Elections Code section 324(a) (definition of general election)
• California Elections Code sections 1000, 1001 (general election dates)

Source

• Landing page: https://oag.ca.gov/opinions/yearly-index
• Original PDF: https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/opinions/pdfs/21-1103.pdf

Original opinion text

TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
State of California
ROB BONTA
Attorney General

OPINION
of
ROB BONTA
Attorney General
LAWRENCE M. DANIELS
Deputy Attorney General

No. 21-1103
December 16, 2021

THE HONORABLE RITA L. NEAL, COUNTY COUNSEL OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, has requested an opinion on questions relating to an election to fill a vacancy on a board of supervisors after redistricting.

QUESTIONS PRESENTED AND CONCLUSIONS

1. Will the boundaries for San Luis Obispo County Supervisorial District Three adopted in 2011 apply to the 2022 election to fill the unexpired term of a deceased incumbent elected in 2020?

Yes. The boundaries of District Three adopted in 2011, which were in effect at the time of the deceased incumbent's election in 2020, control until the next regular election for that seat in 2024, when the boundaries adopted in 2021 will control.

2. Will the individual elected at the 2022 Supervisorial Election for District Three serve a two-year or four-year term?

The individual will serve two years because the election is to fill the remainder of the term of the deceased incumbent.

BACKGROUND

San Luis Obispo County is a general law county that is divided into five supervisorial districts. Each supervisor is elected to office for a four-year term, and the supervisorial elections alternate every two years between the odd-numbered districts and even-numbered districts. The following chronology recounts the circumstances giving rise to the two questions addressed in this opinion.

• On September 20, 2011, after the 2010 decennial census, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors adopted new boundaries for its supervisorial districts.
• On March 3, 2020, Adam Hill was re-elected to District Three of the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors for a four-year term running from January 2021 to January 2025. Districts One and Five also held elections.
• On August 6, 2020, Supervisor Hill passed away.
• On November 20, 2020, Governor Newsom appointed Dawn Ortiz-Legg to fill the vacancy in District Three.
• On December 14, 2021, using the 2020 decennial census results, the San Luis Obispo Board of Supervisors adopted new boundaries for the county's supervisorial districts.
• On June 7, 2022, an election will be held to fill the remainder of the unexpired term in District Three. On that same date, regular elections will be held for District Two and District Four.

The period for submitting candidate paperwork for the June 2022 election will begin in early January 2022. By then, according to the county, it needs to advise candidates of the district boundaries for the election, partly because these boundaries affect whether candidates are qualified to run based on their legal residence. Accordingly, the county counsel has requested an opinion about which District Three boundaries will control for the June 2022 election, the old boundaries adopted in 2011 (and used when Supervisor Hill won re-election in 2020) or the new boundaries adopted in December 2021. Relatedly, the opinion request asks whether the term for the District Three supervisor elected in the 2022 election will be two years or four years.

After examining the statutes governing elections to fill vacancies on boards of supervisors after redistricting, including recent legislative amendments, and after re-examining our 2014 opinion addressing similar questions regarding city council vacancies, we conclude that the old boundaries control and that the winner of the 2022 election for District Three supervisor will serve for two years. We set forth our reasoning below.

ANALYSIS

In a general law county, the board of supervisors comprises five members elected to four-year, staggered terms. Generally, each supervisor represents a district rather than the county at large. The Governor must make an appointment to fill any vacancy on a board of supervisors. The appointed supervisor then serves until a successor is elected at the next general election. If the next general election after appointment occurs at the mid-point of the four-year term of the incumbent who vacated the office, the newly elected supervisor will serve for two years, the remainder of that four-year term. On the other hand, if the appointment occurs in the second half of the incumbent's term, the next general election will not take place until the incumbent's term is set to expire, in which case the appointee will serve the remainder of the incumbent's four-year term, and the supervisor who is elected will serve a new, four-year term.

After each federal decennial census, the board of supervisors must adopt new boundaries for the supervisorial districts to make their populations substantially equal. A change of boundaries during a supervisor's term of office does not change the term of office.

The first question presented involves the statutory provision governing which boundaries must be used in elections of supervisors after redistricting. Elections Code section 21506, subdivision (b), provides:

At the first election for county supervisors in each county following adoption of the boundaries of supervisorial districts, excluding a special election to fill a vacancy or recall election, a supervisor shall be elected for [the new term].

The plain meaning of this provision is that the new boundaries apply at the first regular election after their adoption, not at vacancy or recall elections. Applied here, the 2021 boundaries do not control the 2022 vacancy election in District Three. The 2011 boundaries that were in place when Adam Hill was re-elected in 2020 are the operative boundaries for that vacancy election. The 2021 boundaries take effect at the next regular election for the seat, in November 2024.

On the term-length question, the rule is that a vacancy-election winner serves only the remainder of the unexpired term. Adam Hill's term ran from January 2021 to January 2025; the June 2022 election was at roughly the midpoint of that term; so the winner serves only two years, through January 2025. This conclusion follows from Government Code sections 24201, 25060, and 25061, and is consistent with our analysis in a 2014 opinion addressing similar questions regarding city council vacancies after redistricting.

In sum, the boundaries adopted in 2011 will apply to the June 2022 election in District Three, and the winner will serve only two years, the remainder of the unexpired term.