Case Filing: Missouri NAACP v. Ferguson-Florissant School District et. al.

Case Filing: Missouri NAACP v. Ferguson-Florissant School District et. al.

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…
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Case Filing: Harding v. County of Dallas, Texas

Case Filing: Harding v. County of Dallas, Texas

In January, Anglo voters in Dallas County represented by the Equal Voting Rights Institute filed a minority vote dilution claim against the majority minority County Commissioners Court's 2010 redistricting map, which it describes as "dilut[ing] the overall influence of the Anglo minority in Dallas so that, even if cross-over voting allowed an Anglo preferred candidate to win the County Judgeship, Anglos could not obtain control of the Commissioners Court. It did so, even though it meant dividing political subdivisions, and exaggerating the population disparities between CCDs (whether measured by total population or by CVAP) far beyond the ideal distribution." Read…
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Case Filing: Patino v. City of Pasadena

Case Filing: Patino v. City of Pasadena

Voters represented by the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund filed suit this past November claiming minority vote dilution against the City of Pasadena, Texas. At issue is a change in the voting procedures for the eight member city council. Voters in the city recently passed a proposition to change from eight single member districts to a hybrid system of six single member districts and two at-large seats. Plaintiffs claim that this "will reduce Hispanic voting strength and will impede Hispanic voters’ ability to elect candidates of choice in subsequent in Pasadena City Council elections."   Read the Complaint here.
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Redistricting Reform Moves Through Ohio Legislature

Redistricting Reform Moves Through Ohio Legislature

Republicans have controlled state redistricting in Ohio for the past three decades through control of Ohio Apportionment Board. They are ceding a good deal of that power over redistricting by passing a reform bill last month that would give the minority substantial say over the final map. The bill " . . . would add two members, one from each party. And if the minority-party members did not approve of the district maps, the changes would last only four years, not the traditional 10" By shortening the lifespan of a "contested" redistricting map, the legislation gives incentive to the party in…
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Listen: Supreme Court Oral Argument in Alabama Racial Gerrymander Case

Listen: Supreme Court Oral Argument in Alabama Racial Gerrymander Case

  Listen to the Supreme Court's oral arguments in the consolidated cases; Alabama Legislative Black Caucus v. Alabama and  Alabama Democratic Conference v. Alabama. Democratic lawmakers in the Alabama legislature claim the Republican-led legislature packed Black voters into state legislative districts to dilute their voting power resulting in an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The court heard oral arguments on November 12th 2014.    
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