DOJ weighs in on federal litigation over at-large selection of Hazleton Area School Board members

The U.S. Justice Department announced it has filed a “statement of interest” in a federal lawsuit challenging the at-large method of electing the nine Hazleton Area School Board members, according to a release.

A statement of interest supports the right of private plaintiffs to legally seek enforcement of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits voting practices or procedures that discriminate on the basis of race, color or membership in a language minority group, it said.

Most of the cases arising under Section 2 have involved challenges to “at-large election schemes,” the department’s website said.

The local case at issue — Aquino and Lopez versus the Hazleton Area School District — alleges the at-large method of electing the nine-member school board unlawfully dilutes the ability of Hispanic voters to elect candidates of their choice, Thursday’s release said.

“The school district seeks to dismiss the case, arguing that private parties like the plaintiffs are not able to file lawsuits under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The department’s statement of interest argues that private parties may enforce the Voting Rights Act directly, as well as through another civil rights law on which plaintiffs often rely,” the release said.

This filing is one of many recent briefs by the Justice Department supporting the longstanding principle that private plaintiffs are authorized to bring lawsuits to vindicate important rights protected by the Voting Rights Act, the release said.

Since January 2021, the Justice Department has filed 18 statements of interest and amicus briefs in federal district courts and appeals courts supporting the right of private parties to file suits under the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act to protect the right to vote, it said.

Two department representatives are quoted in the release — Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Gerard M. Karam, U.S. Attorney for the state’s Middle District.

Clarke said private parties across the country have enforced the law, “enabling countless Americans to vote free from unlawful discrimination.”

The right to vote is the “foundation of our democracy” and the “right on which all other rights depend,” Clarke said.

“The Justice Department will continue vigorously enforcing the Voting Rights Act and defending the right of private

citizens and organizations to do the same,” Clarke said.

Karam said the law “gives private citizens a voice to stand up to unlawful voting discrimination by their government.”

“My office will continue to enforce the civil rights statutes like the Voting Rights Act,” Karam said.