Associated Press
PASCO — All seven Pasco City Council seats will be up for election this year after a federal judge ruled that the city can move forward with a new way of electing council members.
U.S. District Judge Lonny R. Suko made that decision on Friday.
The decision arises from a lawsuit that claims Latino candidates in Pasco aren’t given an equal opportunity because of the current council district system.
The Tri-City Herald reported the city proposed a plan to form six districts and one at-large seat. Three of the six will be Latino majority districts.
Suko called that plan legally acceptable and decided it should be implemented immediately.
The ACLU of Washington has said that Pasco’s election system violates the federal Voting Rights Act by diluting Latino votes.
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