Today, a U.S. District Court in Alabama found that the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.’s (LDF) plaintiffs—local Black voters and the Alabama State NAACP—sufficiently alleged that the City of Pleasant Grove’s at-large method of electing its City Council violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, allowing this important case to proceed.
“At-large methods of election are known to discriminate against Black voters,” said Zachery Morris, Fried Frank Fellow at LDF. “Federal courts have found this to be true time and time again. The City has a responsibility to make sure all of Pleasant Grove’s voters are heard, and they have failed. LDF remains open to working together with Pleasant Grove to adopt an electoral system that is fair for all voters before a federal court forces the City to do so.”
Following this decision, the City of Pleasant Grove has ten days to answer our plaintiffs’ complaint. A scheduling conference is set for Thursday, May 2nd.
To read more about this case, please read our complaint.
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Founded in 1940, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is the nation’s first civil and human rights law organization and 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. 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 NAACP Legal Defense Fund or LDF.
