Federal lawsuit argues Kansas city doesn't give Latino voters adequate representation
The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas filed suit Thursday night against Dodge City, arguing the southwest Kansas city's manner of electing local officials does not give Latino residents a voice.
The lawsuit, filed in federal district court by the ACLU, UCLA Voting Rights Project and a New York law firm, comes four years after the city was mired in controversy and legal scrutiny after moving its only polling place outside city limits in a move that critics said was intended to make it harder for minority voters to cast their ballots.
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Latino voters make up 65% of the city's population, a marked rise over previous years.
Yet the lawsuit alleges that no Latino candidate has been elected to the five-member Dodge City Commission since at least 2000, with a Latina commission member, Bianca Soto, who was appointed in 2021 failing to win a full term later that year. At least three other Latino candidates have unsuccessfully run for the commission.
The reason, attorneys argue on behalf of the two Latino residents of Dodge City who serve as plaintiffs, is the city's unique system of electing commissioners, where all five seats are elected on an "at-large" basis, where the entire city votes for all members, versus having members represent a specific geographical area.
According to the lawsuit, this allows the city's bloc of white voters to prevent Latino residents from electing a candidate of their choice, in addition to limited polling place hours in heavily Latino areas and the closure of polling places in Dodge City and throughout Ford County.
"The current at-large election system denies Latine citizens an equal opportunity to have a voice in the future of their City," the lawsuit said.
If the city's Latino communities were in single-member districts, however, it could make it easier to elect a minority candidate, thus giving greater voting power to that population. The lawsuit alleges that, were this done, there could be at least two districts where Latino voters could elect candidates of their choosing.
The lawsuit seeks to block use of the current system in future elections — forcing them to move to a single-member district system — arguing it runs afoul of the federal Voting Rights Act and 14th and 15th amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
"This system is reflective of a broader problem in Kansas, where those in power systematically seek to diminish minority voters and exclude them from the governing process," Sharon Brett, legal director of the ACLU of Kansas, said in a statement. "The Latine population in Dodge City deserves equal voice in shaping their local government, and federal law demands it.”
Andrew Bahl is a senior statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached at abahl@gannett.com or by phone at 443-979-6100.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: ACLU of Kansas argues Dodge City doesn't give Latino voters a voice
