Hazleton sued by DOJ to force adoption of seldom-used voting system
Lawsuit follows similar suit against HASD
HAZLETON – The City of Hazleton itself is facing a lawsuit filed by the federal government, accused of voting rights violations for employing an at-large voting system.
The U.S. Department of Justice alleges that the at-large method used to elect city council members “results in Hispanic citizens having less opportunity than other members of the electorate to participate in the political process and to elect candidates of choice.”
“Hispanic-preferred candidates have run for the city council and routinely lose, despite the county’s sizeable Hispanic citizen population,” the DOJ said in a press release, claiming a violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
“The Hispanic population is a growing and important population in the City of Hazelton (sp), and those citizens should have the ability to choose candidates that represent their interests,” said U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. “This complaint demonstrates my office’s commitment to partner with the Justice Department to enforce civil rights statutes like the Voting Rights Act.”
By switching to voting districts, the DOJ alleges that opportunities will be created for Hispanic voters to elect candidates of their choice. They want a court order forcing the city to switch to single-member voting districts.
Election by single-member voting districts is a system seldom used in eastern Pennsylvania, used by only a handful of municipalities in Schuylkill and neighboring counties.
No municipalities in Carbon, Columbia, or Lebanon employ the system. In Schuylkill, only Palo Alto does.
Wilkes-Barre, Avoca, and Wyoming Borough in Luzerne County do, as does Salisbury Township in Lehigh County, as well as Milton and Watsontown in Northumberland County.
Notably, Allentown and Bethlehem both use the at-large system like Hazleton.
Hazleton Mayor Jeff Cusat said the city believes they are the only municipality facing such a lawsuit and disputed the DOJs claim that the current system violates anyone’s voting rights.
He said the city had received notice in December that the DOJ believed the system was a violation of the Voting Rights Act.
“The City has been working with the DOJ in good faith for the last several weeks to address their concerns,” Cusat said. “However, it appears that suit was hurriedly filed the past Tuesday night before any meaningful discussions could take place.”
This lawsuit comes after the Hazleton Area School District, too, was sued to force the adoption of the seldom-used at-large system.
In Luzerne, Schuylkill, Columbia, and Northumberland counties, the regional or hybrid systems are employed almost exclusively by rural districts. In Carbon County, every school district uses the at-large system.
Two districts — Lake Lehman and Wyoming Valley West — have a regional system in Luzerne County.
In Schuylkill County, the rural Tri-Valley and Williams Valley districts have a regional system, while Pine Grove has a hybrid. Shenandoah Valley, Mahanoy Area, and North Schuylkill all elect directors at-large.
In Columbia County, Benton and Central Columbia have a regional system and, in Northumberland County, Milton, Line Mountain, and Warrior Run have regional systems.
About Author
