LULAC sues Houston over at-large districts, arguing it hurts Latino representation

The nation’s oldest Hispanic civil rights organization sued the city of Houston on Monday, saying that its city council election structure denies Latinos fair representation.

The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) alleged that the use of at-large districts – where all voters across Houston can vote for city council candidates, instead of restricting them to specific districts – violates the Voting Rights Act and dilutes Latino voting power, reports NBC News.

According to the lawsuit, this results in Houston elections that are deeply, racially polarized.

As evidence, the suit notes that the city, which is 44.5% Hispanic, has only elected two Hispanics through its at-large districts in its history.

"Houston's the only major city in Texas where five council members are elected at large and in essence, disenfranchising the Latino community," Domingo Garcia, LULAC president, told NBC News.

"All the other major cities, Austin, El Paso, Fort Worth, Dallas, have all single member districts and have Latino representation that's reflective of their diversity. Houston only has one Latino on City Council."

The 16-seat Houston city council also has 11 members that are elected by the city’s 11 districts. The LULAC lawsuit says that since 1979, only 11 Latinos have been elected to a one of those single-district seats.

LULAC was founded in 1929 by Hispanic World War I veterans who sought to end ethnic discrimination against Latinos in the U.S.

The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Texas in Houston on behalf of four registered voters from the city - Cristina Acosta, Ivan Castillo, Anthony Rios and Ivan Sanchez. It also lists LULAC as a plaintiff.