The Department of Justice announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against the city of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, challenging the city council’s general election method.
The lawsuit alleges that the city’s common method of electing city council members results in Latino citizens having less opportunity than other members of the electorate to participate in the political process and elect candidates of their choice, in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Regulations. Act of Rights. Over 40% of the city’s electorate are Spaniards of voting age. Latino-preferred candidates run for city council and regularly lose, despite the county’s immense Latino population.
According to the latest census information, Hazleton, a city of 29,963, has 18,898 people of Latino descent, and voting-age citizens make up more than 40 percent of the 22,216 eligible voters.
“The Voting Rights Act is an important tool to ensure that underrepresented citizens have an equal opportunity to elect elected officials,” she said Deputy Attorney General Kristen Clarke from the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. “The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that all citizens have an equal opportunity to participate in the democratic process and elect candidates of their choice. We look forward to working with officials to achieve a more perfect union by bringing Hazleton, Pennsylvania into compliance with the Voting Rights Act.”
“The Latino population is a growing and important population in the city of Hazelton, and these citizens should have the opportunity to elect candidates who represent their interests,” she said U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. “This complaint demonstrates my office’s commitment to working with the Department of Justice to enforce civil rights laws like the Voting Rights Act.”
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, alleged that changing the election method could create opportunities for Latino voters to elect candidates of their choice to the Hazleton City Council. For example, by electing council members from single-member districts, Latino voters would have the opportunity to elect at least two members of the five-member city council. The lawsuit seeks a federal court order implementing a modern method for electing the Hazleton City Council.
The Department of Justice looks forward to continuing discussions with the City of Hazleton to resolve this matter.
The Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section, working with U.S. attorneys’ offices, enforces the civil provisions of federal statutes that protect the right to vote, including the Voting Rights Act, the National Voter Registration Act, the American Voting Assistance Act, the Civil Rights Act, and Uniform Code and the Act on Absentee Voting among Foreign Citizens.
