Wyoming: expert testimony in Indian voting rights suit
The Capser Star-Tribune reports: Detamore and Laughlin McDonald, the Indians' lead attorney, hired statistical experts in voting practices -- Steven Cole for the Indians and Ronald Weber for the county -- to testify at the trial this week.
By studying the 1996, 2000 and 2006 general elections, both Cole and Weber found Indian cohesion, but Weber found less cohesion than Cole.
On Wednesday, Weber said he agreed with Cole generally but disagreed with Cole's analysis of racial polarization -- that Indians voted cohesively one way and non-Indians voted cohesively another way.
Cole, who testified Monday, cited one contest in Fremont County where three Indian-preferred candidates were on the ballot, but only one won.
Voters in Fremont County would have shown their voting patterns were not racially polarized if all three of those candidates won, Cole said.
Weber responded Cole set too high a standard, and the analysis should be done differently.
"I think it should be candidate-by-candidate," Weber said. -- Indians, county spar over voting analysis