Appendix F

Sample Comments on a Proposed Voting Change (Redistricting) and the Letter of Objection to the Change

The Department of Justice is currently reviewing the February 19, 1980, proposed redistricting plan for the County Commissioners' Precincts of Jim Wells County. MALDEF strongly urges that an objection be issued for the following reasons:

1. This plan will not provide minorities with
greater access to the political system.

2.

3.

4.

The area of Alice that is most heavily pop-
ulated by Chicanos is gerrymandered into four
separate commissioners' precincts.

The Commissioners Court is unresponsive to the
particularized needs of the minority community.

The plan was designed with discriminatory
intent.

5. The plan is inconsistent with Department of
Justice policies and standards set forth in
United Jewish Organization v. Carey, 430 U.S.
144, 97 S. Ct. 996 (1977).

I.

The proposed redistricting plan will not provide minorities
with greater access to the political system in Jim Wells County.
According to figures submitted by the County, the percentage
of Mexican-Americans in each commissioner precinct will be 75.56%
in Precinct 1, 57.40% in Precinct 2, 56.12% in Precinct 3 and
65.74% in Precinct 4. The effect of this plan is no different

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than other plans proposed by the County; again only one
commissioner precinct will provide minorities with access
to the Commissioners' Court. This is supported not only by a
concensus of opinion among the leaders of the Mexican-American
community but also by past events. In the past, Precinct 4
has had approximately a 65% Mexican American concentration and
yet it has not been possible to elect a Mexican-American from
this precinct.

Our community contacts in Jim Wells County have explained
that the Mexican-American vote in Precinct 4 is controlled in
the following manner: The Precinct 4 Commissioner saves most
of his budget during the first three and a half years after
his election. Then six months before he is to run for re-
election he begins spending this rather large sum of money.
As a result, hiring of Mexican-Americans in need of employment
increases during this time; it is not coincidental that hiring
is generally restricted to those persons who are registered
to vote. Political patronage seems to be the key to the Anglo
candidate's success in Precinct 4.

II.

The proposed plan gerrymanders the area most heavily populated by Mexican-Americans--the barrio--into four separate commissioners precincts. Commissioners in Precincts 2 and 3 are known to be unresponsive and insensitive to the particularlarized needs of the community. For example, there are Mexican-Americans on Road 665 who are without running water. This has been brought to the attention of the Commissioners for Precinct 2, Dinky Price, yet no concrete steps have been taken to alleviate this problem.

2/

To minimize the harm caused by unresponsive commissioners, the Mexican American population should not be divided between Precincts 2 and 3. This division of the barrio constitutes a dilution of minority voting strength. It is possible to formulate a plan that does not have this effect; the MALDEF plan reflects a 73% minority population in Precinct 3. This is non-dilutive when compared to dividing the barrio between Precincts 2 and 3 with 57.4% and 56.12% Mexican-American concentrations respectively. It should be noted that because the barrio in Alice is large (the area south of Highway 44) division of this area is inescapable. However, the dilutive effect of such division should be minimized (as in the MALDEF plan). The Jim Wells County proposed plan maximizes the dilutive impact by evenly distributing the Chicanos not in Precinct 1 between Precincts 2 and 3.

III.

The

This

The proposed plan was drawn with a discriminatory intent. Jim Wells County Commissioners stated that wide news media coverage was given, along with notice in the newspaper, when the Commissioners met to discuss the redistricting plan. gives one the illusion that there was significant opportunity for community input. This illusion is quickly dispelled when one examines the facts. All of the plans proposed at the meeting wer rejected by the Commissioners' court. The plan submitted to the Department of Justice was drawn up by the county Judge's secretary, in secrecy and behind closed doors. The three Anglo commissioners each paid this person $300 to draw up another plan more to their liking. 3/ There was no opportunity for any input from the leaders of the Mexican-American community. Any attempts by these leaders to gain information or maps of this plan been thwarted. The Judge's secretary simply "forgets" time after time to provide requested material.

IV.

Our community contacts--who are lifelong residents of Jim Wells

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April 8, 1980

County--have said that there has never been a Mexican American county Judge in the county. It should be noted that candidates for this position run at large. Also, to the best of the their memory, prior to 1964 there had never been any Mexican Americans elected to the Commissioners Court. After 1964, there has never been more than one Mexican American commissioner on the Court at any given time.

Due to this long-term absence of significant representation of minorities and because the Mexican American population is significantly more than 50% of the county's population, it would be appropirate for the minority community to be in the majority of the population in three commissioner's precincts. Because of the standards set forth in United Jewish Organization v. Carey, 430 U.S. 144, 97 S. Ct. 996 (1977) and carried forth by the Department of Justice, it would be appropriate for the minority population to be at least 65% in three

Nothing less will address such a history of underrepresentation.5/

CONCLUSION

In view of the history of minimal access to the political process, coupled with a history of intentional discrimination against Mexican-Americans, the effect of the Jim Wells County proposed redistricing plan represents an attempt to sustain the existing dilution of Mexican-American voting strength in Jim Wells County. For these reasons we strongly urge the Department of Justice to issue a letter of objection.

5/

MALDEF would like to request that the Department of Justice not disclose the sources of our information to anyone outside of the agency, in accordance with 28 CFR §51.12 (c).