SEATTLE— The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday rejected appeals brought by three voters who attempted to overturn a federal district court’s ruling in Soto Palmer v. Hobbs, a case challenging Washington state’s Yakima Valley legislative map.
In August 2023, the district court struck down the Washington State Redistricting Commission’s map for violating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and created a new court-drawn plan to ensure Latino voters in the Yakima Valley have an equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice. None of the original parties challenged that ruling. Instead, three intervenors appealed.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision that intervenors had no standing to appeal the Voting Rights Act merits ruling and that the remedial map did not violate the U.S. Constitution. As a result, the remedial map ordered by the district court remains in place.
Campaign Legal Center (CLC), MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund), the UCLA Voting Rights Project, and attorney Edwardo Morfin of the Morfin Law Firm in Washington filed the lawsuit in January 2022 on behalf of individual Latino voters in the Yakima Valley area.
Please attribute the following statement to MALDEF President and General Counsel Thomas A. Saenz:
“This appeal, which was a desperate attempt by political forces to deprive Latinos of the right to choose their own elected representatives, ended as all such attempts should — with a clear defense of voting rights by the court.”
Please attribute the following statement to MALDEF Western Regional Counsel Ernest Herrera:
“On Wednesday, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the historic decision that protects Yakima Valley Latino voters from dilutive redistricting,” said MALDEF Western Regional Counsel Ernest Herrera. “We are glad that the Ninth Circuit panel recognized that the intervenors’ appeal had no standing or merit.”
Read the decision HERE.