Missouri – Plaintiffs content in this lawsuit filed in December that African-American voters in Ferguson-Florissant are denied the ability to elect candidates of their choice to the local school board because of the existing at-large voting system.
“Despite the fact that African Americans are almost half of the School District’s population and are a substantial majority of its students, there has never been adequate representation of African Americans on the Board. At present, the Board has only one African-American member.”
They claim that under section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, that the at-large method of voting dilutes minority voting power in the district and list several factors that contribute to the continued frustration of the African-American student majority in the district, included an informal slating process, staggered terms and racial bloc voting.
