Aldasoro v. Kennerson, Civ. No. 91-1410-B (LSP).
| Decision Date | 04 August 1995 |
| Docket Number | Civ. No. 91-1410-B (LSP). |
| Citation | 922 F. Supp. 339 |
| Parties | Jose ALDASORO and Domingo Enriquez, Plaintiffs, v. John KENNERSON, Officially as the Registrar of Voters of Imperial County, and El Centro School District, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of California |
COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED
Pauline Gee, California Rural Legal Assistance, El Centro, CA, for plaintiffs.
John McDermott, Cadwalader, Wickersham and Taft, Los Angeles, CA, for defendants.
FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW; JUDGMENT
This case involves a challenge by Hispanic plaintiffs to the at-large election system of the El Centro Elementary School District Board of Trustees ("El Centro") under Section 2 of the federal Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. Section 1973. Hispanic plaintiffs allege that El Centro's at-large election system violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, both because it "dilutes" the ability of Hispanic voters to elect candidates of their choice and also because it impairs their ability to "influence" elections.
Vote dilution occurs when a minority group is unable to elect candidates atlarge whom it could elect within a single member district where the group is a majority. Thornburg v. Gingles, 478 U.S. 30, 68, 106 S.Ct. 2752, 2775, 92 L.Ed.2d 25 (1986). Thornburg, the leading case interpreting Section 2, sets out the following three preconditions which minority plaintiffs must establish to prove vote dilution:
Id. at 48-50, 106 S.Ct. at 2765-66. If all three preconditions are established, the Court then must consider, under a "totality of circumstances" analysis, whether a current condition of vote dilution exists.
After considering the evidence at trial as well as the legal memoranda submitted by the parties and arguments of counsel, the Court, having filed its written Decision on November 1, 1994, now hereby makes the following findings of fact and conclusions of law.
1. El Centro Elementary School District is located in Imperial County. Since approximately 1906, it has employed an at-large electoral system to select its Board of Trustees, which now has five members. Every voter has the opportunity to cast a ballot for all five Trustee seats. There are no districts. This system is authorized by state law. Cal. Educ.Code §§ 35012, 5019, 5020, 5030.
2. Elections are held every two years in odd-numbered years and staggered so that either two or three seats are elected every two years. The two or three candidates receiving the two or three highest vote totals of all candidates running are elected to four year terms of office. There is no majority vote requirement and no runoff election.
3. Voters may cast two or three ballots in each election for the two or three seats up for election, but there is no "anti-single shot" requirement1 that a voter must cast as many ballots as seats up for election in order for his or her vote to count. They may "bullet vote," or cast just one ballot if they choose to do so. Thus, Hispanics may vote once for a sole Hispanic candidate and deny Anglo candidates the other vote2, thereby improving the chances of electing an Hispanic candidate. 9/22/94 Trial Transcript ("Tr."), Dr. Rabinovitz, p. 16; 10/12/94 Tr., Dr. Brischetto, p. 85.
4. The Hispanic population of El Centro has increased substantially since 1970. The 1990 Census indicated that the City of El Centro had a total population of 31,384 people, 65% of whom were Hispanic. Its demographic composition was as follows:
Anglo 8,890 28.3%
Black 1,186 3.8%
Asian/PI 642 2.0%
Other Race 184 0.6%
Hispanics 20,482 65.3%
Total 31,384 100.0%
Ex. EU. The boundaries of the El Centro Elementary School District ("ECESD") are larger than but include the entire City. The Elementary School District has a total population of 32,811, of whom 64.9% are Hispanic, 28.7% are Anglo, 3.7% are Black and 3.5% other. Ex. EV. The boundaries of the Central Union High School District include all of the City, all of the Elementary School District and other territory as well. The City, Elementary District and High School District all employ the same type of five member, staggered term, plurality win, at-large election system that permits bullet voting.
5. The Hispanic population is disproportionately under the age of 18 and disproportionately noncitizen. Hispanics were 59% of the voting age population in El Centro School District in 1990 and 47% of its voting age citizens. By 1994, Hispanics had become a majority of the voting age citizens in El Centro Elementary School District.3
6. In 1975 Raul Aragon was the first Hispanic candidate to be elected to the El Centro School District in a contested election. He was elected to a seat common to the El Centro Elementary School District and the Central Union High School District. In 1979 the two Boards separated. In 1983 the El Centro School District Board was expanded from three seats to the current five Board seats.
7. Since 1983, there have been 17 Trustee seats elected on the Elementary Board. Seven were filled by minorities, three by Hispanics and four by Blacks. The Elementary School Board election history since 1983 is as follows:
a. In 1983 two (2) Hispanics — Rae Perez and Rebecca Montiel — were elected to the ECSD's Board. The 1983 election was basically an uncontested election. Montiel lost in 1985 and Perez lost in 1987 when they ran for re-election in contested elections. (Admitted Fact # 6 — Pretrial Order of 1/11/93, p. 3).
b. Since 1983 through 1991 there have been eight (8) Hispanic surnamed candidates who have run for the ECSD Board in contested elections in 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991. None of the Hispanic surnamed candidates won in any of those elections. (Admitted Fact # 7 — Pretrial Order of 1/11/93, p. 3).
c. In 1993, three (3) Hispanic surnamed candidates ran for the ECSD Board in a contested election. One of the Hispanic surnamed candidates won one of the two seats.
d. In the ESCD's 87 year history, only 2 Mexican American candidates have ever won in a racially contested election: Mr. Raul Aragon in 1975 and Mr. Efrain Silva in 1993.
SCHOOL BOARD ELECTIONS
CONTEST MINORITY CAND. OUTCOME NONMIN. CAND. OUTCOME
'93 SB Silva (H) W-1,536 Von Flue W-1,948
Rodriguez (H) L-1,168 Luke L-1,346
Rutledge (B) L-738
Bustamante (H) L-665
'91 SB Newton* (B) W-1,354 Hull W-1,893
Esperanza (H) L-983 Arnold* W-1,518
Banks (H) L-859 Yates L-418
Whisler (A) L-350
Perez (H) L-1,141
Osa (H) L-988
'90 SB Newton (B) W-2,697 Carson L-1,300
Hernandez (H) L-756 Gonzalez L-180
'89 SB Osa (H) L-612 Hamilton* W-1,723
Duggan W-1,455
Douthitt L-1,081
Anderson* L-954
'87 SB Berryman* (B) W-1,465 Le Pere* W-1,860
Perez* (H) L-1,273 Arnold W-1,774
Gotti L-882
Lester L-947
'85 SB Montiel* (H) L-1,034 Anderson* W-1,935
Hamilton W-1,799
'83 SB Berryman* (B) W-1,393 Vlasic L-836
Perez (H) W-980
'83 SB Montiel (H) W-1,174 Le Pere* W-1,353
(Meas.E)
(W = Won; L = Lost) (*Incumbent)
Exs. EA, p. 1, and FB. Thirteen Hispanics have run for the El Centro Elementary School District ("ECESD") Board since it became a separate district. Two were elected in 1983, in basically uncontested elections. Efrain Silva won in 1993.
8. Hispanics and Blacks also have been elected to the City Council and High School District Board of Trustees. Since the 1960's, twelve Hispanics and five Blacks have been elected to the City Council. Four Hispanics but no Blacks have been elected to the High School District Board. Minorities elected to the City Council and High School District Board are as follows:
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