This is how you end Democracy. A lawsuit is filed against the people of Clovis? Why? Because they did not vote to elect a Hispanic to the city council. In other words, cities have quotas as to who to elect, not the best person for the position. Voters are being told they are not allowed to vote for some people and MUST vote for others. This is racism. Of coursed the Democrat Party is America’s historic racist Party—and still practices racism.
“A California attorney has threatened legal action against the City of Clovis, accusing Fresno County’s second-largest city of violating the California Voting Rights Act.
The City of Clovis will be forced to consider changing how its City Council is elected or face potential litigation from Kevin Shenkman, a Malibu-based voting rights attorney who has never lost a voting rights lawsuit in California.
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Currently, Clovis elects its City Council in an at-large system, meaning each council member is elected by all of the city’s registered voters. The at-large voting system generally has fallen out of favor in cities and school boards around the state since the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) was implemented in 2001.
Shankman has sued dozens of California cities and some school boards. In many cases, they pay him $35,000 and he goes away. These are cookie cutter lawsuits. He lives in the enclave of the rich in Malibu—250 miles from Clovis. Wonder if he ever visited the town? They should sue him for a frivolous lawsuit.
Clovis faces lawsuit threat over Latino representation in City Council elections. Will the city change?
The City of Clovis will be forced to consider changing how its City Council is elected.
by Rob Parsons, Fresnoland, 9/17/24 https://fresnoland.org/2024/09/17/voting-rights/?utm_medium=email
What’s at stake?
A California attorney has threatened legal action against the City of Clovis, accusing Fresno County’s second-largest city of violating the California Voting Rights Act.
A California attorney has threatened legal action against the City of Clovis, accusing Fresno County’s second-largest city of violating the California Voting Rights Act.
The City of Clovis will be forced to consider changing how its City Council is elected or face potential litigation from Kevin Shenkman, a Malibu-based voting rights attorney who has never lost a voting rights lawsuit in California.
Bottom of Form
Currently, Clovis elects its City Council in an at-large system, meaning each council member is elected by all of the city’s registered voters. The at-large voting system generally has fallen out of favor in cities and school boards around the state since the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) was implemented in 2001.
Many California cities and school boards have switched to district elections, which generally strengthens “minority group’s ability to elect its preferred representatives,” Shenkman said.
In a formal legal letter to the Clovis City Clerk dated Aug. 23, Shenkman said Clovis’ at-large system has caused “racially polarized” elections that resulted in “minority vote dilution” and demands the city of more than 120,000 switch to district-based elections.
“Voting rights advocates have targeted ‘at-large’ election schemes for decades,” Shenkman said in the Aug. 23 letter, “because they often result in ‘vote dilution,’ or the impairment of minority groups’ ability to elect their preferred candidates or influence the outcome of elections, which occurs when the electorate votes in a racially polarized manner.”
Since at least 2020, Clovis leaders have said they’re “studying,” “evaluating” and “reviewing” whether the city needs to switch to district elections. Those efforts are apparently ongoing, with no resolution or decision almost four years later.
In a brief statement to Fresnoland last week, Clovis spokesperson Taylor Danielson said the city’s review hasn’t concluded.
“Ensuring each voter continues to have a voice in the local city council elections remains a top priority to the City of Clovis, as it always has been,” Danielson said in the statement. “While the City currently uses a lawful ‘at large’ system for electing local officials as authorized by California law, the City continues to review and evaluate all options to remain compliant with applicable law, including a system of voting ‘by district’ at some point in the future. The City recently received Mr. Shenkman’s demand letter and the matter is being reviewed and will be duly considered, and the City will likely have a response in the coming weeks.”
Danielson did not respond to specific questions about the city’s yearslong process, including whether an analysis ordered by the Clovis City Council in 2022 was ever conducted.
A city analysis of election data from March 2021 found “no statistical conclusion” of racially-polarized voting.
In a telephone interview with Fresnoland, Shenkman questioned whether the sample size used by the city from March 2021 was large enough.
Shenkman also said his firm is looking for evidence that Clovis also analyzed election data from the large general election held in November of 2022, in addition to the March 2021 analysis. Shenkman said the November 2022 analysis would’ve provided a larger sample city for the city to consider.
Danielson confirmed that the City Council hasn’t seen any new data since March of 2022.
“There has not been an additional presentation or data provided since that meeting,” Danielson said in an email to Fresnoland.
Shenkman said the analysis conducted by his law firm found evidence of racially polarized voting in Clovis, a city that is more than 30% Latino.
“Yet, Latino representation on the City’s governing board has been sparse to non-existent,” Shenkman says in the letter.
Shekman said Latino voters in Clovis have had their votes diluted, regardless of the presence of Latino council members in prior years.
“The mere presence of a member of a protected class doesn’t mean the class is represented,” Shenkman told Frensoland.
In his letter to the city, Shenkman cited what he said were examples of vote dilution.
“In the 2022 election, for example, Martin Salas lost his bid for a seat on the Council despite significant support from Latino voters, due to a lack of support from non-Latino voters,” Shenkman said. “ Similarly, in the 2017 election Paulo Soares was supported by Latino voters but lost due to a lack of support from non-Hispanic white voters.”
The move to pressure the City of Clovis to change comes about one year after the Clovis Unified School District made the switch from at-large to district-based elections, a push Shenkman’s firm was also involved with.
Some Clovis city leaders have expressed skepticism about district-based elections in Clovis.
Clovis has 45 days from the date of Shenkman’s letter to respond.
Shenkman said he doesn’t think Clovis should fight the process.
“If they fight,” Shenkman explained, “the next step is we sue and that could lead to a protracted legal battle that no other city has ever won.”
