DOJ objects to Ville Platte redistricting plan
The Ville Platte [Louisiana] City Council Tuesday received news that the U.S. Justice Department has rejected the city's redistricting plan. The plan, one of seven under consideration, would have kept the current three white and three black districts in the city.
The letter signed by Assistant U. S. Attorney General Alexander Acosta said the Civil Rights Division was concerned over the city's plan to reduce District F's black population percentage by 17 percent. The letter stated that the "city provided no evidence to rebut the conclusion that the plan was written to retrogress minority voting strength by eliminating the electoral ability of black voters in District F."
Justice went on and wrote that the city reviewed but did not give any consideration to Plan 4 prepared by the NAACP which would have created an additional black majority city council district.
The city council's elections were scheduled in the fall of 2002 at the same time as the mayor and police chief but were cancelled due to a problem with the census bureau accurately including newly annexed areas of the city. -- U.S. Justice Dept. rejects Ville Platte redistricting plan (Opelousas Daily World)
The DOJ objection letter is here.