Texas Federal Court Imposes Preclearance on City of Pasadena

Texas Federal Court Imposes Preclearance on City of Pasadena

By EditorJan 08, 2017
Pasadena, Texas - The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas in this ruling invalidated the city's move from an eight-member district redistricting map to a mixed map of six single member districts and two at-large seats for electing its city council.  The court's finding of minority vote dilution (of Hispanic voters) under section 2 of the Voting Rights Act includes an order to subject the city to preclearance requirements, which would mean election officials must clear any future redistricting changes to the Justice Department for approval.  Read the initial case filing by plaintiffs here. There were several…
Local Redistricting, NEWS, Race in Redistricting, Redistricting, Redistricting Race Rules, Voting Rights Act, , , , ,
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Navajo Lawsuit Against Off-Reservation Polling Places Survives Motion to Dismiss

Navajo Lawsuit Against Off-Reservation Polling Places Survives Motion to Dismiss

By EditorJul 19, 2016
Utah - Residents of a Navajo reservation have filed suit against San Juan county election officials after polling places were closed in and around the reservation.  While county voters may mail-in their ballots, the plaintiffs in the lawsuit claim that there is no "in-person" voting available on the reservation, and this interferes with the reservation inhabitant's voting rights.  This week a judge denied the election officials' motion to dismiss.  Read more in the Salt Lake Tribune.
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City in Orange County California Skips Court and Abolishes At-Large Voting

City in Orange County California Skips Court and Abolishes At-Large Voting

By EditorJun 16, 2016
San Juan Capistrano, CA - This town of around 35,000 in Orange County, California boasts a burgeoning Latino population of nearly 40%. City council members have been historically elected at-large by city voters, but a recent lawsuit field by a Latino voting rights group sparked debate and in the end, city officials agreed to elect council members by district; five districts to be exact.       The elections for the districts are staggered; two seats will be up this year. The remaining in 2018. Once all of the districts are in place, Latinos will comprise a substantial portion of two districts,…
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Augusta City Election Officials Perplexed at Running Elections Without DOJ Supervision

Augusta City Election Officials Perplexed at Running Elections Without DOJ Supervision

By EditorJan 28, 2016
In this local news story, election officials in Augusta City, GA remain befuddled about how to proceed with elections without having to report to the Justice Dept. on their every move. Apparently, the preclearance process has become such an institution in the city, official are at a loss on how to proceed. https://youtu.be/-LCuc1lRx8M
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Lawsuit Alleges Prison Gerrymandering in Florida County

Lawsuit Alleges Prison Gerrymandering in Florida County

By EditorApr 08, 2015
The ACLU of Florida has launched a salvo against prison gerrymandering. It filed this lawsuit against a Florida county's inclusion of a state prison in its legislative map. The press release is below. March 9, 2015 MIAMI, FL – Today, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida filed a federal lawsuit challenging an election system in Jefferson County, Florida which counts the inmate population of a state prison in the drawing of district maps. The lawsuit, filed today in the U.S. District Court in Tallahassee, states that by treating the approximately 1,157 inmates at the Jefferson Correctional Institution (JCI)…
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ACLU Files Voting Rights Lawsuit in Fullerton, CA

ACLU Files Voting Rights Lawsuit in Fullerton, CA

By EditorMar 19, 2015
Fullerton, CA: The ACLU  filed a lawsuit Wednesday on behalf of Asian voters in the city of Fullerton, California. The suit alleges that Fullerton's at-large style elections impede the ability of Asian voters to elect their preferred candidates. Unlike, its lawsuit in Yakima, WA, this complaint is based on the California Voting Rights Act as opposed to the federal law. Read the ACLU's release from Wednesday below: Paik v. City of Fullerton is a lawsuit alleging that the City of Fullerton’s at-large elections violate the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA), which prevents cities from imposing at-large elections that deny minority communities the…
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New Developments in Yakima, WA Vote Dilution Case

New Developments in Yakima, WA Vote Dilution Case

By EditorMar 19, 2015
Yakima, WA: The Yakima city council voted this week to give themselves more time to decide if the council will appeal a recent federal court ruling invalidating its at-large method of electing city council members. The Hispanic population in the city is 42% and Hispanic voters had been unable to an elect a candidate of their choosing in the at-large scheme. The court had to make a finding of racially polarized voting in past election to invalidate the at-large system. The recent court ruling required the city to divide voters into districts, both the city and the ACLU -who was a…
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Los Angeles City Council Redistricting Upheld by Federal Court

Los Angeles City Council Redistricting Upheld by Federal Court

By EditorFeb 25, 2015
Los Angeles - City Council President Herb Wesson was vindicated by a federal court's ruling that the council's controversial 2012 redistricting map was not an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.  Despite so-called damning video evidence submitted by plaintiffs that showed Wesson telling an audience that the map "guaranteed" at least two minority council members going forward, the court found the districts in question to be racially diverse and drawn in accordance with traditional redistricting principles. In the end, the court did not believe the entire council had racially discriminatory goals when drawing the map. Read the Article here.
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