Nov 4, 2009 1:12 pm US/Central
Appeals Court Rules Against FB Voting Lawsuit
DALLAS (AP) ―
A federal appeals court has affirmed a ruling against three Latino voters who tried to change how council members are elected in Farmers Branch, one of several American cities trying to drive out illegal immigrants through a series of ordinances.
The voting-rights lawsuit alleged the city's at-large City Council system diluted minority votes. The plaintiffs wanted to create single-member districts, in which a council member is elected to represent a specific section of the city.
Their attorneys argued before a federal court in Dallas that Hispanic citizens of voting age would form a majority of the voters in one of the proposed districts. On appeal, they contended that citizenship wasn't a requirement in showing Latinos of voting age would make up the majority in the proposed district.
A three-judge panel at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the argument. In a ruling Tuesday, the New Orleans-based panel insisted that the number of minorities of voting age in a proposed district must be citizens and needed to account for a majority of the total population of the district's voting-age citizens.
The lawsuit was filed after the City Council in Farmers Branch approved banning illegal immigrants from renting homes in the city, a rule that's never been enforced because of lawsuits and a ruling preventing it. The plaintiffs said if the single-member district method had been in place, at least one Latino candidate would have previously been elected to the council and could represent the ethnic group.
Since 1970, Farmers Branch has changed from a small, predominantly white community to a city of almost 28,000 people. U.S. Census Bureau estimates show about 48 percent of Farmers Branch residents are Hispanic. The city's mayor and city council are all white.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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