At-Large Vote Hurts Latinos, Judges Rule

In a significant boost to minorities seeking a stronger voice in local elections, a federal appeals court today ruled that minorities do not have to prove intentional discrimination when they challenge at-large, citywide elections for local governing boards.

The ruling, which could provide strong ammunition for battles over the election of city councils and school boards in communities throughout the Southwest, held that the city of Watsonville’s at-large elections illegally dilute the political power of the city’s 48% Latino population.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals held that Latinos in California have been the subject of “ubiquitous historical and current racial discrimination” and need not prove that cities have adopted intentional discriminatory practices in order to challenge at-large voting systems.

‘Recent Reforms’ Not Enough

In its first interpretation of the 1982 amendments to the federal Voting Rights Act, the court also held that recent attempts to provide more opportunities for minorities in city government do not erase the effects of years of past discrimination.

“We cannot approve ignoring past discrimination because of recent reforms,” Judge Dorothy W. Nelson wrote for a three-member panel of the court.

More than 400 of California’s 450 cities hold citywide council elections. Minority challenges to those practices are pending in a number of communities, including San Diego, Stockton, Chula Vista and National City.

“City governments at this point will have to re-examine their practices and see if they can withstand scrutiny under the norms laid out by this opinion,” said Denise Marie Hulett, a lawyer for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which challenged the Watsonville election system.

8 Latinos Unsuccessful

Vincent Fontana, lawyer for Watsonville in the case, said he is not surprised by the ruling but will have to consult with city officials before deciding on the next step.

Minority groups argued in the Watsonville case that despite the city’s substantial Latino population, no Latino had ever been elected to the City Council before the case went to trial last year. A total of eight Latino candidates ran unsuccessfully between 1971 and 1985.

Plaintiffs in the case filed a proposal to elect council members by district, a plan that they claimed would guarantee Latino majorities in at least two of five districts in the city.