Politics & Government

Mount Pleasant Targeted Under New NY Voting Law: Report

A group of residents say the town's at-large system for town offices disenfranchises Hispanic voters, according to the Examiner.

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Lanning Taliaferro, Patch StaffVerified Patch Staff Badge
A group of residents alleges the traditional at-large method of voting for townwide offices in Mount Pleasant disenfranchises Hispanic voters.
A group of residents alleges the traditional at-large method of voting for townwide offices in Mount Pleasant disenfranchises Hispanic voters. (Emily Leayman/Patch)

MOUNT PLEASANT, NY — The Mount Pleasant town council has hired election law experts to review the town's voting system after a group of Hispanic residents threatened to sue under New York State's new voting rights act, The Examiner reported.

The five residents say the traditional at-large method of voting for townwide offices effectively denies them representation on the town board, the paper reported. They argue that though the Sleepy Hollow section of town is 50 percent Hispanic, no Hispanic resident has ever been elected to the council. Overall, the population of the town is 19 percent Hispanic.

The town board passed a resolution Friday to hire two election law experts to analyze historic voting data. A public hearing will be scheduled, Martin Wilbur, the Examiner's editor-in-chief, reported.

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