2024 is the last year Hayward will have at-large elections for the City Council and HUSD Board of Education after being sued by Jack Wu, a Hayward resident, and Neighborhood Elections Now Inc.

According to the City of Hayward Website, the reason for changes to the electoral process is because the current at-large voting process dilutes the voting power of the city’s Asian American population.

“Many Asian Americans will only vote when someone from their own neighborhood explains why it matters—and when they have an equal voice on the city council and school board, it will matter,” said Scott Rafferty, Jack Wu’s attorney, in an email to SFGATE.

The City of Hayward is to have a by-district system into legislation by October 14, 2024. With this system instated, Hayward will be separated into six voting districts, who will each vote for someone who is from that district. The only election that will remain at large in this system would be for the mayor. The first elections using the by-district system will be held in 2026. By 2028, the entire City Council will be voted on with the by-district system, excluding the mayor.

Four of the seven Hayward City Council seats will be available this upcoming election on November 5th. Currently, there are seven candidates running for the four positions, which are currently occupied by council members Angela Andrews, Ray Bonilla Jr., Dan Goldstein, and Francisco Zermeño. All four current council members are running for re-election. The other three candidates not mentioned previously are Tom Wong, Joe Ramos, and Tom Ferreira.