Santa Clara’s experience in its first by-district election is typical, although the number of minority representatives in Santa Clara isn’t, according to Loren Collingwood, UC Riverside Associate Professor of Political Science.

Collingwood is the co-author of the first statistical study specifically of CVRA impacts, “Can States Promote Minority Representation? Assessing The Effects Of The California Voting Rights Act.”

“We studied 30 cases,” said Collingwood. “We’re seeing an average of one seat. In larger cities there might be one and a half seats.”

Santa Clara’s minority representation after this election “is larger than our research has found,” Collingwood continued, “but not outside the bounds of rationality. Asian Americans are the fastest growing immigrant population. I would expect that kind of change given the demographic changes in California.”

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