The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) wants a judge to declare that a Pennsylvania city’s method of electing council members has illegally diluted the political power of its growing Hispanic population, arguing in a claim that Hazleton is violating the federal Voting Rights Act.
The lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court in Scranton claims that the “general” voting system results in “Hispanic citizens not having an equal opportunity to participate in the political process and elect the candidates of their choice.”
The Justice Department under outgoing President Joe Biden is seeking a court order for the city, the five-member City Council and Republican Mayor Jeff Cusat to design a new system.
Cusat and City Council President Jim Perry issued a statement Wednesday noting that the election method does allow Hispanic people the same opportunity to participate.
“The current at-large voting system in the City of Hazleton provides equal voting rights to all citizens regardless of race or gender,” they stated.
Hazleton’s growing group of Hispanic voters have not gone to the polls in sufficient numbers to elect one of their own, Perry said in a phone interview Wednesday, noting that there are Hispanic people serving on city boards and officials.
“They run and they don’t get it,” said Perry, who is a Republican. “So, for me, you just have to go vote.”
“The Hispanic population is a growing and important population” in Hazleton, U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam said in a news release. “Those citizens should have the ability to elect candidates who represent their interests.”
Hazleton’s 30,000 residents are about two-thirds Hispanic, one-third non-Hispanic white and less than 2% non-Hispanic black, according to the lawsuit. The voting-age population of 17,000 is about 53% non-Hispanic white, about 43% Hispanic and nearly 4% non-Hispanic black.
“Hazleton’s Hispanic community, including limited English proficient Spanish speakers, continues to suffer the effects of discrimination in education, employment, housing, and policing,” the Justice Department argued.
No Hispanic candidate has been elected to the Hazleton City Council or named to fill a vacancy on the council, according to the lawsuit. It alleges that “racially polarized voting patterns characterize” council elections and that Hispanic candidates have difficulty raising funds, obtaining endorsements and being invited to debates and other campaign events.
State Rep. Manny Guzman, a Reading Democrat and vice chairman of the Pennsylvania Legislative Latino Caucus, said he believes the lawsuit will enhance the political power of Hazleton’s Hispanic residents.
“Something is happening in the mechanics of local government there that is obviously preventing Latinos from getting their rightful place at these tables and in these seats,” Guzman said.
A separate lawsuit filed a year ago by two Hispanic parents that is currently pending before the same judge, U.S. District Judge Karoline Mehalchick, alleges that the overall voting system for members of the Hazleton Metropolitan Area School Board has also excluded Hispanic voters in violation of the Voting Rights Act.
The school district filed a response in November saying it has not violated federal law or “denied or limited anyone’s right to vote on the basis of race or color.”
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