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The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Kansas, UCLA Voting Rights Project, and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP filed a lawsuit challenging the at-large method of election for the city commission for Dodge City, Kansas, as violative of Section 2 of the VRA and the Fourteenth Amendment.

The lawsuit is filed on behalf of two Latine residents of Dodge City. Even though Latines comprise 64% of the city鈥檚 total population, 59% of the city鈥檚 voting-age population, and 46% of the city鈥檚 citizen voting-age population, just two Latines have been elected to the five-member Dodge City Commission in the past three decades.

The Supreme Court has long recognized that at-large election systems like the one used in Dodge City can dilute the political power of voters of color. The court largely denied Defendants鈥� motion to dismiss and denied in full Defendants鈥� motion for summary judgment, allowing the case to proceed to trial. Trial was heard in February 2024.

Update: In July 2024, the district court issued a ruling rejecting the argument that Dodge City's at-large method of elections dilutes Latine voters' opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice.