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Today, LDF sent a letter to address the first-ever exploratory proceeding concerning an alleged violation of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of New York (the “NYVRA”) initiated by the Town of Mount Pleasant (the “Town”). On July 13, 2023, a group of individual Hispanic voters sent the Town an NYVRA notification letter alleging that the Town’s at-large method of election violated the NYVRA. The Town’s exploration of an effort to address a potential violation represents the first NYVRA proceeding since the law’s adoption last year. LDF’s letter offers background on the NYVRA, provides information on various potential remedies to unlawful racial vote dilution caused by at-large methods of election, and encourages the Town to take full advantage of its present opportunity to pioneer an exemplary remedial process under the NYVRA.

Read the full letter here.

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Founded in 1940, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is the nation’s first civil rights law organization. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the Legal Defense Fund or LDF. Please note that LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957—although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights. 

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