Yakima City Councilmembers’ implementation of Charter changes causes voter dilution to its citizens in Yakima.

Overview:

The city Councilmembers considered making changes to the City’s Charter, essentially violating state and federal law. The new change to the Charter would take away voting power from racial minorities, a right granted to them under the Montes decision. Previously, Pasadena, Texas similarly tried to deprive its Latino citizens of their right to vote. That lawsuit ended up being long and expensive and in the end the court ruled against Pasadena. Therefore, UCLA Voting Rights Project, Columbia Legal Services, and other stakeholders will closely monitor the City of Yakima to ensure that voter dilution is not occurring to its citizens.