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The Justice Department accuses the City of Eastpointe of violating the Voting Rights Act by denying black residents an equal opportunity to elect at-large city council members of their choice.
In a federal lawsuit filed in Detroit, authorities say Eastpointe voting patterns are racially divided, with white voters consistently opposing candidates preferred by the sizable black community. White voting blocks have kept the five-member council segregated racially.
"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," the department says in a statement Wednesday. "With Eastpointe’s current system, voting patterns combined with other local factors dilute the black community’s voice and lead to a discriminatory result."
The lawsuit seeks a court order implementing a new method of electing Eastpointe City Council members. One way of doing that, the government states, is to have members elected by districts, which would give blacks a better opportunity to be represented.
“Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act prohibits practices such as Eastpointe’s at-large City Council system where they improperly dilute the ability of citizens to elect the candidates of their choice,” U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade says. “We filed this lawsuit to ensure that all voters in Eastpointe have a fair opportunity to participate in their local government.”
Eastpointe also has never elected a nonwhite school board member, according to Associated Press coverage of the case.
The Justice Department has been in "positive discussions" with the Macomb city of about 34,000 people and hopes to settle the case, it says.
