[EL] VRA Decision in Section 2 Case, Montes, et al. v. Yakima

[Abigail Thernstrom]

Points I've made at length in both my books on the VRA, so of course they're right!

Sent from my iPad

> On Aug 22, 2014, at 8:36 PM, "Larry Levine" <larrylevine at earthlink.net> wrote:
> 
> These cases always mystify and amuse me. Probably, it’s the political campaign consultant in me. How often I’ve seen a minority interest head to court for an order to divide the city into electoral districts in which they would be able to win. Usually they end up with one or two seats in which the minority is the majority of voters. That means they have memorialized their minority position on the governing body. If the same amount of money spent on the legal case were applied to the electoral process – voter registration and get-out-the-vote activities – they could take over the entire city council in just two election cycles. The legal challenge is the lazy way to approach the issue. Sometimes the minority group continues to grow and spread through the geography of the city until it elects four or even five of the members of the five-member council. Other times it produces a balkanization that is detrimental to the interests of the entire geopolitical entity as in the case of the Los Angeles Unified School District.
> Larry
>  
> From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu [mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] On Behalf Of Hamilton, Kevin J. (Perkins Coie)
> Sent: Friday, August 22, 2014 4:18 PM
> To: [EL]
> Subject: [EL] VRA Decision in Section 2 Case, Montes, et al. v. Yakima
>  
> Judge Rice in the Eastern District of Washington entered an order this afternoon granting summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs in a Section 2 case challenging the Yakima City Council at-large system.  We are, obviously, thrilled with the outcome.  Here’s a link to the 67-page order.  https://aclu-wa.org/cases/montes-v-city-yakima-0[aclu-wa.org]
>  
> Kevin
>  
> Kevin J. Hamilton | Perkins Coie LLP
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> khamilton at perkinscoie.com
>  
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