DIXON, CA (MPG) - One of the most common questions asked by potential voters in this town is, "What district am I in?" 

A bit of history first: It was in 2016 that City Attorney Doug White first proposed the council divide into districts because Los Angeles area communities had begun to do this with the goal of avoiding lawsuits due to claims of "stacking and packing" Latino votes in an attempt to suppress their representation. In older times, this was referred to as "gerrymandering."

White was convincing and the Council at the time agreed to the idea. Via a consultant, three options were given for boundaries and the decision was made on the present borders that were built around the then/current elected council members. We offer this here courtesy of the City of Dixon website.

Since the District divide decision, the last couple elections have shown that as far as ethnic divide, the plan was ineffective and has yielded only one council member of racial minority status. Dixon Latinos who make up about 41 percent of the 2016 records, like all ethnic backgrounds, live in all neighborhoods because Dixon is a small town of only seven square miles.

Currently, District 1 Council Rep is Scott Pederson; District 2 is Jim Ernest; District 3 is Steve Bird; and District 4 is Devon Minnema.

A big issue in Dixon is the fact that there is not a fair gender divide. All candidates are males. Although there have been two women appointed to city council, there has been no woman campaign and elected since Jill (Disney) Orr in 2000 when City Councilwoman Mary Ann Courville was elected to Mayor.

Another interesting fact about the Dixon districts is that the voter turnout comes out unevenly by significant amounts. District 1 has 2,689 voters; District 2 has 2,401; District 3 has 2,989 and District 4 has the most with 3,008 voters. Could that be because more residents wanted in on District 4 Councilman Devon Minnema's annual Christmas cookie delivery?

Ballot packets will start arriving at the end of this month and about 40 percent will choose mail-in ballots. Some residents are adamant about using the polls because of distrust of the United States Post Office but if the ballot makes it to the post office, there are still potential problems.

Though the average of disqualified ballots are about five percent, the Solano County Office of Voter Registrar’s is less than one percent, according to John Gardner, Assistant Registrar of Voters who has worked in the field for nine years.

"That is because we are on top of it!" he said. "We know this person is interested in voting."

The number one reason a ballot is invalid is because they didn't sign it with the second reason being that there is a signature "mismatch" from the signature on file, he explained.

Either of these reasons go into a 'process of resolution' beginning the day it is received which includes phone calls, emails, texts and lastly a letter to get resolution.

"People can resolve all things easily online," he said. "We also have these tools to get alerts on your phone available that will inform the receipt of the ballot, or a problem, text the word SOLANO to this number: 28683 from your cell phone."

He expects a high turnout this year not only because it is a presidential election but also because of the pandemic, there is "high interest."

"Overall, I expect an 85 to 86 percent turnout," he said.