11th Circuit To Rehear Election Challenge

ATLANTA (CN) - The 11th Circuit agreed to rehear a case about whether the at-large election system in Glades County, Fla., dilutes minority votes.

In July, the circuit reversed and remanded a ruling denying relief to black voters who said the system stripped them of their right to vote for members of the county commission and school board.

The county's 10.1 percent black population is heavily concentrated in the largest city. The at-large system lets all voters in the county cast ballots for any of the seats on the commission or school board.

Patricia Brown and Billie Thompson, a former school board candidate, claimed the system was adopted "for the purpose of diluting, minimizing, and canceling out the voting strength of African Americans" in violation of the Voting Rights Act. See order and panel ruling.

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