The City of Turlock will hold four workshops this week to discuss a potential change in how the city elects its leaders.

The City of Turlock may soon shift from an at-large voting system, where every city resident votes for every city councilmember, to a district-based system.

In district elections, one council member would be elected to represent each area of Turlock. Residents would vote only for the council member from their district, and candidates would be required to live in that district.

The shift comes as the City of Turlock received a letter threatening legal action if it does not adopt district-based elections. District elections are considered to be more representational of a citizenry, as councilmembers cannot all come from one particular, usually wealthy part of town.

The Turlock Unified School District shifted from at-large to district-based elections in 2013.

The matter will likely return to the Turlock City Council for action on April 8. If all goes well, Turlock voters could be asked to approve voting districts in November.

“We’re trying to be on course to have this on the 2014 ballot,” said Turlock City Manager Roy Wasden.

If approved, the switch to district elections would take effect in 2016.

The following workshops will be held:
6 p.m. Monday at California State University, Stanislaus, 1 University Circle, in Mary Stuart Rogers Building Room 130. Free parking is available in Lot 11.
6 p.m. Tuesday in the Turlock Senior Citizens Center, 1191 Cahill Ave.
6 p.m. Wednesday in the Turlock Public Safety Facility, 244 N. Broadway.
11 a.m. Thursday art Covenant Village, 2125 N. Olive Ave., in Berg Hall. Only street parking is available at Covenant Village.