Despite the Voting Rights Act of 1965 — that outlawed the over-century’s old discriminatory voting practices that disproportionately affected Black Americans as well as people of color — similar practices are still very much in practice today in some parts of the country. 

The only difference now is that these practices are modernized and not as blatant as those used in the 1960s and prior. In 2022, we are still seeing some of these aforementioned acts of discrimination. In a particularly recent case from Dodge City, Kansas, it affected the ever-growing Latino population of the U.S. 

Last Thursday, Dec. 15, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Kansas filed a lawsuit against Dodge City on behalf of two Latino residents of the small Kansas town alongside the national ACLU, the UCLA Voting Rights Project and New York City-based law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen and Hamilton.

The federal lawsuit filed against the town of just over 27,000 people — 160 miles west from Kansas’ largest city of Wichita — is alleging that the currently existing voter system in the town has prevented the large Latino population in the town from electing Latino representatives to the city commission. 

A swath of Latinos in recent decades have landed in Dodge City because of the many meatpacking plants in the area that have attracted many migrants looking for work. And as of now, according to the 2020 U.S. Census, Latinos make up 65% of the total population, with roughly 46% of the voting age population. 

The lawsuit filed last Thursday alleges that the currently existing system that allows citywide votes for all five city commissioners is not only in violation of said Voting Rights Act, but also calls it an unconstitutional practice. 

In actuality and in good conscience of having a fair voting system, the town should instead be divided into five voting districts. According to the lawsuit, by doing so, it would give the huge Latino bloc an increased chance of electing their preferred candidates in at least two of the proposed districts. 

City Manager Nickolaus Hernandez released a statement following the news of the lawsuit and said that it fails to paint the complete picture of the small town’s system of an at-large commission elections and municipal activities, “as it relates to several other cities of the same size and structure across Kansas.” 

“We are eager and always open to having fruitful conversations with our community members that drive meaningful change for the good of our entire city,” Hernandez added. “We intend to specifically extend that invitation to the groups who filed this complaint. We welcome the dialogue and look forward to the opportunity to help advance our great city, and build upon our rich, unique and diverse population.”

The lawsuit also asserts that no eligible Latino candidate has been elected to the city commission in over 20 years. The last Latina who was appointed in 2021 did not win a full term later that same year. According to the lawsuit, three other Latino candidates who ran for the post were strongly supported by Latinos, but even with that, did not win any seats. 

However, the current commissioner, Joseph Nuci Jr., refuted those assertions in a statement late last Friday, saying that he is Latino and has twice been elected to the Dodge City commission. 

“The claim and reports that frame Dodge City as not having elected representation of a Latino on the commission are categorically false, they misrepresent our commission, and are merely an attempt to divide our great city,” he said.

The litigation also adds that the ongoing lack of voting sites in Latino areas in conjunction with a long history of voting-related discrimination and other social and economic disparities between the white and Latino populations, is in place to halt the chance of any Latino representation on the commission seats. 

The lawsuit describes the current method of voting in the town as a “dilutive effect” in which it allows residents to vote in all commission races and allows non-Latino voters to consistently come together to vote out Latino voters’ preferred candidates. 

Ultimately, those involved are asking that they prevent Dodge City in the future and forever on from using the aforementioned voting system and require the town implement district-based elections to prevent further weakening and diminishment of the voting power of the Latino voting bloc. 

“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. The Latine population in Dodge City deserves equal voice in shaping their local government, and federal law demands it,” Sharon Brett, legal director of the ACLU of Kansas, said in a statement.