{"id":28825,"date":"2017-01-11T20:01:06","date_gmt":"2017-01-12T04:01:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=28825"},"modified":"2017-01-11T20:15:55","modified_gmt":"2017-01-12T04:15:55","slug":"feds-file-voting-rights-suit-against-city-of-eastpointe-michigan-blacks-not-represented","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=28825","title":{"rendered":"Feds: Michigan City Discriminates Against Blacks By Violating Voting Rights Act"},"content":{"rendered":"

MICHIGAN<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

\"VoteBlacks have never been elected to city council, school board or the legislation in the city of Eastpointe, even though one-third of its electorate is black, according to the federal government.<\/span><\/p>\n

The U.S. Justice Department blames Eastpointe\u2019s electoral process which they allege is racially discriminatory and violates the Voting Rights Act, according to officials.<\/span><\/p>\n

The feds filed a lawsuit to challenge the at-large method of electing the city council of Eastpointe, Michigan.<\/span><\/p>\n

The suit is seeking to end the practice, which city officials say has been in place since <\/span>1929.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit alleges that Eastpointe has racially polarized voting patterns, with white voters consistently opposing and defeating the preferred candidates of Eastpointe\u2019s sizable black community.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although black residents comprise roughly one-third of the electorate and consistently support black candidates for local office, no black individual has ever served on the Eastpointe City Council.<\/span><\/p>\n

With Eastpointe\u2019s current system, voting patterns combined with other local factors dilute the black community\u2019s voice and lead to a discriminatory result.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFederal law seeks to protect diverse communities from discriminatory systems that weaken the power of the franchise,\u201d said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division.\u00a0 \u201cThe Justice Department hopes to work cooperatively with Eastpointe to ensure that all communities enjoy equitable opportunity in our elections.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Among other important factors highlighted in the case law, the lawsuit alleges that Eastpointe has racially polarized voting patterns, with white voters consistently opposing and defeating the preferred candidates of Eastpointe\u2019s sizable black community.<\/span><\/p>\n

To read the federal lawsuit click here: \u00a0Department of Justice<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

The Justice Department continues to have positive discussions with the city of Eastpointe and remains hopeful that a settlement will be reached.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

As Eastpointe\u2019s next regularly scheduled city council election is set for November 2017, the department\u2019s filing was necessary to preserve the ability of a court to hear this case in a timely manner, according to officials.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MICHIGAN Blacks have never been elected to city council, school board or the legislation in the city of Eastpointe, even though one-third of its electorate is black, according to the federal government….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28831,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home-main-slider","category-u-s-department-of-justice"],"yoast_head":"\nMichigan City Discriminates Against Blacks By Violating Voting Rights<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Blacks have never been elected to city council, school board or the legislation in the city of Eastpointe, even though one-third of its electorate is black.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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