Hispanic residents testify against Farmers Branch election system

Testimony continued Wednesday in a Dallas federal court in a lawsuit in which three Hispanic residents are trying to force Farmers Branch to elect City Council members by district rather than citywide.

The three contend that the current, at-large system dilutes the voting strength of Latinos. Although Farmers Branch was 37 percent Hispanic at the time of the 2000 census, the plaintiffs say, history has shown that a Hispanic cannot win a city election.

They contend that if the city were divided into districts, it would be possible to create one with a Hispanic voting majority could be created, which would increasing the chances of a Latino winning a council seat.”*

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