The U.S. Justice Department has opted to retract its lawsuit, which accused a city with a significant Hispanic population in Pennsylvania of undermining the political influence of its Hispanic residents.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Karoline Mehalchick in Scranton sanctioned the dismissal of the suit against Hazleton following the Justice Department’s request on Monday. This development marks another instance where the department, now under President Donald Trump’s administration, has backed out of legal actions related to voting rights, particularly cases initiated during former President Joe Biden’s tenure, with a similar scenario arising in Georgia.
The department did not provide clarification in their court documentation as to their reasoning behind the withdrawal, nor did they release an official statement dedicated to the matter. Initially, the lawsuit, which commenced in January, claimed the city’s practice of utilizing an “at-large” election system for choosing city council members was detrimental to Hispanic voters and halted their success in gaining council seats.
Under claims that this system infringed upon the federal Voting Rights Act, the Justice Department pursued a court directive that would compel the city, Hazleton’s five-member City Council, and Republican Mayor Jeff Cusat to redesign the electoral framework.
City officials have consistently defended the current system as lawful, insisting it ensures equal voting right access for all citizens. They highlighted that while Hispanic individuals do hold positions on various city boards and authorities, none have secured election to the city council.
Mayor Cusat, in a statement released on Tuesday, credited the dismissal to the city’s court defenses, stating it revealed significant flaws in the department’s allegations. Cusat wrote that the department had erroneously presumed the city’s non-Hispanic white electorate votes collectively to obstruct Hispanic candidates. He also noted that altering the electoral structure is a decision to be made by voters via a referendum.
Hazleton is home to approximately 30,000 residents, with two-thirds identifying as Hispanic, as per U.S. Census data. The remaining one-third are non-Hispanic whites.
The claims in the Justice Department’s lawsuit were reminiscent of a separate legal action brought by two Hispanic parents challenging the at-large election system used for the Hazleton Area School District board. The school district, however, denied these allegations.