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PORT CHESTER---A federal judge in White Plains granted a government motion Friday to enjoin the upcoming March 2007 elections for the Village of Port Chester.
The federal government filed a complaint on Dec. 15, alleging that Port Chester's at-large system of electing its governing Board of Trustees diluted the voting strength of the village's Hispanic citizens, in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The same day, the government filed a motion to enjoin Port Chester from using its at-large election system on March 20, to elect two new trustees.
According to papers filed by the government, the 2000 census shows that almost half of Port Chester's residents and 22% of Port Chester's citizens of voting age were Hispanic By July 2006, the number of Hispanic citizens of voting age had increased to about 28%. Despite these figures, no Hispanic has ever been elected to Port Chester's municipal legislature, the six-member Board of Trustees. Indeed, no Hispanic has ever been elected to any public office in Port Chester despite the fact that Hispanic candidates have run for office six times, twice for the Board of Trustees, and four times for the Port Chester Board of Education which manages a school system that is overwhelmingly Hispanic.
Following a two-week hearing, U.S. District Judge Stephen C. Robinson ruled that the government was likely to prevail at trial on its claim that Port Chester's at-large system of electing members of the board of trustees dilutes the voting strength of Hispanic citizens. The judge set April16 through April 20 for a trial in the matter.
Additional information about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting laws is available on the Department of Justice website at www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting/index.htm. 3-05-07
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© 2007 North
Country Gazette
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