Pasco Approves Consent Decree in ACLU Voting Rights Lawsuit

SPOKANE (AP) — The Pasco City Council has approved the submission of documents to a federal judge agreeing that the city's at-large system for electing members of the council violates the federal Voting Rights Act.

The state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit earlier this month, saying the current elections system weakens the political voice of the city's large Hispanic population.

The ACLU will now work with Pasco officials to come up with an elections system that satisfies the Voting Rights Act.

If they cannot, the matter will return to federal court. The ACLU contends that any solution must incorporate dividing the City Council into seven single-member districts.

The ACLU recently won a similar case against the nearby city of Yakima, which also has a large Hispanic population.