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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Politics or Voter Discrimination? Texas City Sued for Election Changes

Politics or Voter Discrimination? Texas City Sued for Election Changes

By EditorMar 23, 2015
Pasadena, Texas: MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund)  filed suit this past November after the Mayor of Pasadena, Texas successfully pushed a proposition to voters that would change an 8 member city council elected by district to one with 6 single member districts and 2 members elected at-large, by the entire city. Advocates of the narrowly passed measure touted it as a way to ensure that there are some council members looking out for the city as a whole, as opposed to narrowly focusing on the voters in their own district. What sounds like a good democratic goal…
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Case Filing: Patino v. City of Pasadena

Case Filing: Patino v. City of Pasadena

By EditorJan 30, 2015
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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