March 24, 2020 – In a critically important ruling, U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant of the Eastern District of Texas denied a motion by the Frisco Independent School District (FISD) for summary judgment on March 23 – clearing the way for a Voting Rights Act lawsuit to proceed to trial.
The action filed by Brewer Storefront on behalf of plaintiff Suresh Kumar is one of the highest profile cases of its kind, as electoral bodies across North Texas come under greater scrutiny for allegedly utilizing unconstitutional voting schemes.
Brewer Storefront filed suit in federal court on April 16, 2019, on behalf of plaintiff Kumar against FISD and its trustees, alleging that the school district’s at-large election system violates the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The lawsuit claims that the school district’s at-large voting system denies Kumar an opportunity equal to that of white voters to elect representatives of his choice. The Storefront is the community service legal affiliate of Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors.
“This decision underscores what we have believed all along – the voting scheme utilized by Frisco ISD violates the Voting Rights Act and denies minority voters the opportunity to elect a candidate of their choosing,” says William A. Brewer III, partner at Brewer Storefront and lead counsel for plaintiff Suresh Kumar. “We are eager to get to trial and bring the facts of this case into full view.”
Under the current electoral system, FISD’s seven school board members are elected at large. Candidates run for specific places but do not represent a specific geographic area. The lawsuit claims the at-large; system unlawfully dilutes minority votes and allows the white voting bloc to determine the winner of every election.
In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Mazzant wrote that, “After a careful review of the record and the arguments presented – including Defendants’ Supplement to Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment – the Court is not convinced that Defendants have met their burden demonstrating that there is no material issue of fact as to Plaintiff's claims entitling them to judgment as a matter of law. Accordingly, the Court finds that Defendants' Motion for Summary [Judgment] should be denied."
A trial date is not yet set in this case, but a date may be set at a pretrial conference with the judge on March 31. On March 20, 2020, Brewer Storefront filed a second amended complaint in the lawsuit.
Six Asian candidates and two Hispanic candidates ran unsuccessfully for the FISD board over the four years prior to the filing of the lawsuit. All eight of the candidates of color lost to a white opponent in those FISD board elections. The only minority (Asian) candidate to prevail in an election was elected in May 2019 following the filing of the voting rights lawsuit. Six of seven FISD trustees are White.
FISD is an increasingly diverse school district. As of January 2020, the district reported enrolling 63,015 students, almost 59% of whom are students of color. FISD’s student enrollment is approximately 41.2% White, 29.3% Asian, 13.5% Hispanic, 11.1% African American and 4.2% multiracial (two or more races).
The lawsuit alleges that, “Minority-preferred candidates face a White voting bloc that represents nearly 67% of FISD’s Citizen Voting Age Population. The at-large system allows racially polarized voting within FISD to dilute minority votes and allow a plurality of White votes to block minority candidates from virtually every trustee seat in the District.”
The lawsuit alleges that unless the court directs FISD to design a single-member district or cumulative voting system, the current discriminatory system will persist.
The lawsuit states that, “Unfortunately, the Board has not accepted that as part of a booming suburban community, it must adapt to the dynamic reality of today and adopt an election system that encourages greater participation of all citizens and secures equality at the ballot box.”
Kumar, the plaintiff, is a Certified Public Accountant who is active in local civic affairs. A resident within Frisco ISD, Kumar has two daughters who have attended FISD schools. Kumar is an Asian American who moved from India to the United States in 1994.
The Storefront has successfully challenged violations of the Voting Rights Act on behalf of other communities of interest in previous actions.
The Storefront successfully resolved Voting Rights Act cases with the Richardson Independent School District in January 2019, the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District in 2015, and the Grand Prairie Independent School District in 2014. All districts now utilize remodeled voting systems. The Storefront also secured trial victories in Voting Rights Act cases against the Irving Independent School District in 2014, the City of Farmers Branch in 2012, and the City of Irving in 2009. Those lawsuits paved the way for the formation of new voting systems and the election of minority candidates