FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CR
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1998
(202) 6162765
WWW.USDOJ.GOV
TDD (202) 514-1888
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SUES MASSACHUSETTS CITY FOR DENYING HISPANIC CITIZENS EQUAL PARTICIPATION IN THE ELECTORAL PROCESS
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Seeking to ensure that Hispanic citizens have an equal opportunity to participate in all phases of the electoral process, the Justice Department has sued the City of Lawrence, Massachusetts, today for violating the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
"All citizens have the right to participate fully in the democratic process of voting," said Bill Lann Lee, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. "Hispanic citizens in Lawrence have faced significant and numerous barriers in casting an effective vote. Our lawsuit is a comprehensive enforcement effort designed to eliminate those barriers."
"The Voting Rights Act was passed by Congress to make sure that all voters, and not just those in the majority, have a fair chance to make their vote count," commented Donald K. Stern, U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetss.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Boston, alleges five different claims under the Voting Rights Act. The suit comes after an extensive investigation of the city's electoral practices.
Two claims concern the dilution of the Hispanic vote in electing the city council and school committee. Although Hispanics make up more than 40% of the population of Lawrence, only one Hispanic has ever served as a city council member and only one Hispanic has ever served as a school committee member.
The Lawrence city council is comprised of nine elected officials. Six of the officials are elected by, and represent, residents in each of six districts within the city. Three others are elected by residents city-wide, through an at-large vote. Although a majority of the Hispanic community lives within a geographically compact area of North Lawrence, only one of the six city council districts is comprised of a majority of Hispanic voting age residents. That district is represented by the sole Hispanic council member.
Like the three at-large seats on the city council, all seven members of the school committee are elected citywide.
After studying recent elections, the Justice Department determined that Hispanic-supported candidates for city council and school committee were defeated because of bloc voting by white voters, as well as an electoral system that substantially minimizes the effect of strong Hispanic voter support.
The Justice Department seeks an order that would put in place election plans for both the city council and the school committee which will allow representation that fairly reflects the voting strength of Lawrence's Hispanic community.
A third claim involves the city's continuing failure to provide effective language assistance in the electoral process to Spanish-speaking voters who have limited English skills.
Since 1984, Lawrence has been subject to the bilingual provisions of the Voting Rights Act, because more than 5 percent of its voting age citizens are Hispanics with limited English skills, and the illiteracy rate of those citizens exceeds the national illiteracy rate.
Under the bilingual provisions, Lawrence is required to translate all election-related materials, and ensure that Hispanic voters who have difficulty reading English can receive oral assistance in Spanish during all phases of the election process, including assistance while casting their ballots on election day.
The suit alleges that Lawrence has not complied with the bilingual provisions, which require that it implement an effective bilingual assistance program for the city's Spanish-speaking voters.
The Justice Department seeks an order requiring the city to provide the proper assistance and inform Hispanic voters of the availability of Spanish language assistance in the electoral process.
Fourth, the Justice Department found that Lawrence appoints and assigns pollworkers in a way that underrepresents the city's Hispanic citizens, in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Today's suit would require the city to correct the imbalance.
Fifth, the complaint alleges that all of these deficiencies in the city's election practices have worked to deny Hispanic citizens the equal access to the political process that the Voting Rights Act guarantees. The Justice Department's requested relief seeks to remedy those systemic deficiencies.
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98-526