Feds Sue Eastpointe Over Alleged Voting Rights Violations

(Updated) DETROIT, MI — The city of Eastpointe, Michigan, violated the Voting Rights Act when it denied black residents of the city the opportunity to elect representatives of their choice with its at-large method of electing city council members, the Justice Department alleged in a lawsuit filed late Tuesday.

Though black residents make up about a third of the city’s population, no black candidate has ever been elected to the Eastpointe, according to the filing. The Justice Department said officials are working closely with Eastpointe with a goal toward settling the lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Detroit, before the November 2017 city election.

In a statement, Eastpointe City Manager Steve Duchane said the city has already initiated discussions with the Department of Justice and that officials hope a settlement can be reached, possibly a consent decree, without lengthy and costly litigation.

“Tuesday’s action was not unexpected,” Duchane said. “We understand that our demographics have changed, that minorities are an increasing segment of our population and that it may be time replace a voting system that’s been in place for nearly 90 years with a new method that affords minorities a better chance to have representation on our City Council.”

The lawsuit is expected to be discussed at the upcoming Jan. 17 City Council meeting.

The lawsuit came after an extensive review of the city’s electoral practices, history and current conditions, guided by extensive precedent found in Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. 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’s sizable black community.

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 Justice Department said.

The complaint also alleges that changing the method of voting — for example, by electing each council member from a district — could create an equitable opportunity for black voters to elect a candidate of their choice to the Eastpointe City Council.

The lawsuit seeks a federal court order implementing a new method of electing the Eastpointe City Council.

In his statement, Duchane said the city’s African American residents have never formally expressed concerns over the at-large voting process for City Council positions. If and when a district voting system is enacted, the city may need to spend up to $50,000 to change polling precincts, register new voters and issue new voting cards, he said.

According to the complaint, 2010 Census figures show that Eastpointe has a voting age population of 24,103, including 16,885 of whom are white (70%), and 6,154 of whom are African American (25.5%). Since 2009, six African American residents have run unsuccessfully for the City Council.

Moreover, more recent figures from the 2010-2014 American Community Survey estimated that African American residents now make up 39 percent of the city’s total population and 34 percent of Eastpointe’s voting age population.

The city manager said the vast majority of communities in Michigan, as well as across the nation, use an at-large system for selecting elected officials. A few Michigan cities have adopted a district form of selecting council members, including Warren and Lansing. The proposed changes will not impact the mayor’s position. Eastpointe voters will continue to be elect a mayor on an at-large basis.

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