A federal court has denied a motion for summary judgment in a lawsuit filed against the City of Dodge City. The lawsuit is challenging the city’s at-large voting system.
The case is now scheduled for trial beginning February 24th in U.S. District Court in Wichita.
The American Civil Liberties Union, the UCLA Voting Rights Project, and local advocates filed the lawsuit last year over Dodge City’s at-large election system. Instead of dividing the city into districts, the system allows all Dodge City residents to vote for all city commission seats. The ACLU argues that this is a violation of federal law and it dilutes the vote of Latine residents. Latine residents make up 65 percent of Dodge City’s total population and 59 percent of its voting age population.
The City of Dodge City had filed a motion for summary judgment in the case, but it was denied by a judge, allowing the case to move forward to trial.
