The U.S. Justice Department sued a Georgia county Thursday, alleging that its method of electing county commissioners discriminates against Black voters.
Houston County, home to 163,000 people south of Macon, uses countywide elections to fill each of its five commission seats.
The civil lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court says those at-large elections violate the Voting Rights Act by unfairly diluting the influence of Black voters, who make up nearly one-third of the Houston County’s electorate.
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