US Justice Department drops lawsuit accusing Pennsylvania city of diluting power of Hispanic voters

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department has withdrawn its lawsuit that accused a heavily Hispanic city in Pennsylvania of illegally diluting the political power of its growing Hispanic population.

U.S. District Judge Karoline Mehalchick in Scranton approved the dismissal of the case against Hazleton on Tuesday, a day after the Justice Department requested it.

It is the latest example of the department under President Donald Trump dropping or withdrawing from a voting rights case begun under former President Joe Biden, including a case in Georgia.

The department didn’t explain in its court filing why it is withdrawing or issue a statement on the case Tuesday.

The department’s initial lawsuit, filed in January, said the “at-large” system of electing city council members, as opposed to electing them by district, was unfair to Hispanic voters and prevented them from getting elected to city council.

The Justice Department argued that the system violated the federal Voting Rights Act and had sought a court order requiring the city, the five-member City Council and Republican Mayor Jeff Cusat to come up with a new system.

City officials insisted the system was lawful and gave equal voting rights to all citizens. They pointed out that Hispanic residents serve on city boards and authorities, although none have been elected to city council.

In a statement Tuesday, Cusat took credit for the dismissal, saying the city’s arguments in court “exposed the fundamental weaknesses” in the department’s accusations. The department had adopted the “baseless” assumption that the city’s non-Hispanic white voters vote as a bloc to defeat Hispanic candidates, Cusat wrote.

The city’s voters can change the system through a referendum, he said.

Hazleton’s 30,000 residents are about two-thirds Hispanic, according to U.S. Census figures. One-third is non-Hispanic white.

The lawsuit’s claims echoed a separate lawsuit filed by two Hispanic parents against the at-large system of voting for members of the Hazleton Area School District board. The school district denied the allegation.