THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff,
v.
CIVIL ACTION NO. 6:08-CV-582-ORL-18DAB
THE SCHOOL BOARD OF
OSCEOLA COUNTY, FLORIDA;
and CONNIE CLICK, Supervisor
of Elections,
Defendants.
_____________________________________
CONSENT JUDGMENT AND DECREE
The United States initiated this action to enforce
Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 1973 ("Section 2").
The complaint alleges that the election districts for electing the members of the School
Board of Osceola County, as currently drawn, will result in Hispanic citizens having less
opportunity than other members of the electorate to participate in the electoral process
and to elect candidates of their choice to office in violation of Section 2. The court
has jurisdiction of this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1973j(f) and 28 U.S.C. 1345.
The parties, through counsel, have conferred and
agreed that this action should be settled without protracted, costly, and potentially
divisive litigation. Moreover, the parties share the goal that all future elections
for the School Board of Osceola County are conducted under election districts that comply
with Section 2. Accordingly, the parties have entered into this
Consent Judgement and Decree as an appropriate resolution of this action.
The parties stipulate as follows:
1. Defendant the
School Board of Osceola County, Florida is a political subdivision
of the State of Florida, organized pursuant to the Florida Constitution and the laws of Florida.
2. The School Board
of Osceola County, Florida (hereafter "School Board" or "Board") is the body established
under the Florida Constitution and the laws of the State of Florida that is responsible
for the governance and administration of the School District of Osceola County, Florida.
3. Defendant Connie
Click is the Supervisor of Elections of Osceola County, and is sued in her official capacity.
The Supervisor of Elections has responsibilities concerning the administration of voter
registration and the conduct of school board elections in Osceola County.
4. According to
the 2000 Census, Osceola County, which is coterminous with the Osceola County School
District, has a total population of 172,493 persons, of whom 50,727 (29.4%) are Hispanic
persons. The County has a total voting-age population of 126,279 persons, of whom
34,267 (27.1%) are Hispanic persons.
5. There has
been substantial and continuing growth in the Hispanic population since the 2000 Census
was released. The 2006 American Community Survey of the Bureau of the Census for Osceola
County reflects a total population of 244,045 persons, of whom 97,361 are Hispanic
persons (39.9%). The total voting-age population is 182,237, of whom 68,663 are
Hispanic persons (37.7%). As of January 2008, Hispanic persons constituted 34 percent of
Osceola County's registered voters.
6. From 1997 through
the most recent election in 2006, the five members of the School Board have been elected
on an at-large basis from numbered positions to four-year, staggered terms. If no
candidate receives a majority of the vote in the initial election, there is a run-off
election between the top two candidates.
7. In 2006, the
United States prevailed in a Section 2 vote dilution suit against Osceola County
challenging the at-large system for electing its Board of County Commissioners.
The court ruled that the use of the at large system for electing commissioners in Osceola County
diluted Hispanic voting strength in violation of Section 2, and ordered elections to be held,
beginning with a special election in 2007, under a remedial plan of five single-member districts.
The districting plan approved by the federal district court included a district with a Hispanic
citizen voting age population and Hispanic voter registration majority. See United
States v. Osceola County, Florida, 475 F.Supp.2d 1220 (M.D. Fla. 2006);
United States v. Osceola County, Florida, 474 F.Supp.2d 1254 (M.D. Fla. 2006).
8. Following the federal
court's decision in United States v. Osceola County, the School Board,
acting in good faith, unanimously voted to conduct a referendum election on whether to
change to a single-member district method of election. On January 29, 2008, the
voters of Osceola County approved a change in the method of electing members of the School
Board from at-large to single-member districts.
9. The court in
United States v. Osceola County found that the Hispanic population
in Osceola County is sufficiently numerous and geographically compact that under a fairly-drawn
single-member district voting plan, Hispanic persons would constitute a majority of the citizen
voting age population in one of the five districts. 475 F.Supp.2d at 1229-1231.
10. Under the School
Board's existing district plan, Hispanic persons would not constitute a majority of the
citizen voting-age population or of the registered voters in any of the five districts.
11. Based on the
undisputed facts in the record and the United States' expert testimony and analyses
of elections for countywide offices in Osceola County, including School Board elections,
the court in United States v. Osceola County found that Hispanic voters are
politically cohesive, racially polarized voting patterns prevail in the county, and non-Hispanic
voters have voted sufficiently as a bloc to enable them usually to defeat Hispanic voters'
preferred candidates. Id. at 1232-1233.
12. No Hispanic
candidate has ever been elected to the School Board, or to any county-wide office in Osceola County.
13. The court in United States v. Osceola County found that there was "a history of discrimination against
Hispanic voters and candidates in Osceola County." Id. at 1235.
14. The court in
United States v. Osceola County found that significant socioeconomic
disparities between Hispanic and nonHispanic white residents have impeded equal participation
by Hispanic persons in Osceola County elections. Id. at 1234.
15. Further, pursuant
to section 1001.36, Florida Statutes, the School Board is prohibited from revising its
election districts in even-numbered years.
16. In light of
the totality of circumstances set forth in paragraphs 4 through 15 above, and to ensure
that the Hispanic citizens of Osceola County have an equal opportunity to elect
candidates of their choice to the School Board, the Defendants have agreed to replace the existing
election districts with a revised district plan to be implemented beginning with the 2008
scheduled elections. The new plan provides for a district in which Hispanic citizens will
constitute a majority of the eligible voters.
Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that:
1. The Osceola County School
Board's current district plan, implemented in the totality of circumstances referenced above,
violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. 1973.
2. The Osceola County
School Board's current district boundaries are replaced by the revised district plan appended
in Exhibit A. A map of the geographic boundaries and the statistics for each district are
provided in Exhibit A.
3. The district
boundaries in Exhibit A will be used for the 2008 and 2010 elections for the Osceola
County School Board. In 2008, the Osceola County School Board will hold elections in
Districts 2 and 3. In 2010, the Osceola County School Board will hold elections in
Districts 1, 4, and 5.
4. Upon entry of
the Decree, Defendants shall ensure that information, materials, and announcements regarding
the district boundaries in Exhibit A and the election schedule are provided to the
voters through mail, newspapers, radio, the Internet, and other appropriate media. Information
will be provided in the Spanish language to the same extent as it is provided in English.
5. Following the
release of the 2010 Census, the Osceola County School Board shall review the Census to
determine whether the districting plan adopted and approved by this Consent Judgment and
Decree needs to be revised to comply with federal law, including the one-person-one vote
requirement of the Constitution or Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. In the event that
Defendants enact a new redistricting plan following the 2010 Census, they shall notify
the United States not later than ten days after its adoption. Any revisions to the district
map or method of election provided in this Decree shall comply with Section 2 of the Act
and applicable constitutional standards.
6. This Court shall
retain jurisdiction through the 2010 elections to enforce the provisions of the Decree
and for such further relief as may be appropriate.
DONE and ORDRED in Orlando, Florida this
23rd day of April, 2008.
________/s/________________
GREGORY A. PRESNELL
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
