California: state supreme court upholds state Voting Rights Act
AP reports: A state law allowing voters to challenge at-large elections systems on the basis that they dilute the strength of minority voters will stand, after the California Supreme Court declined to review the case Wednesday.
The high court's refusal to hear the case leaves intact an appeals court ruling that upheld the 2001 California Voting Rights Act.
The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights sued the city of Modesto in 2004 on behalf of Hispanic voters there, charging that electing city council members to at-large seats instead of from districts diminished the strength of their votes. Though the city is one-quarter Hispanic, just one Hispanic has been elected to Modesto's five-member city council since 1911.
The city argued that the California Voting Rights Act, which the plaintiffs relied on to demand change, was unconstitutional because it benefited certain racial groups. -- Article - News - State Supreme Court upholds California Voting Rights Act