April 17, 2025 Story by: Editor
A lawsuit claiming the way Houston County elects county commissioners dilutes the power of Black voters is moving ahead — but with a major change.
The lawsuit, which was filed as President Joe Biden’s term neared an end, was voluntarily dismissed by President Donald Trump’s Justice Department.
But two Houston County residents, Courtney and Mike Jones, filed into the case before the DOJ’s filing, hoping to keep the suit alive despite the U.S. Department of Justice’s decision to drop the case.
The lawsuit claims that the at-large system of voting for Houston County Commission dilutes the power of Black voters. In this system, all Houston County residents vote on commissioners, which Biden’s DOJ argued violated Section II of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Since Reconstruction in the 1860s, the lawsuit notes that there has only been one Black Houston County commissioner, despite 31 percent of the county being Black. There are no Black commissioners serving right now in Houston County.
The voters are urging U.S. District Court Judge Marc Treadwell to force Houston County to move to geographic voting districts, which they argue would give the county’s Black population the chance to elect their own representatives.
Section II of the Voting Rights Act has forced the change from at large to geographic voting districts in the past. That section bans policies and procedures that discriminte on the basis of race or limit minorities access to representation.
While the county and county commissioners fought to have the case dismissed after the Trump Administration dropped their case — arguing that only the DOJ can sue to enforce the Voting Rights Act — the case appears to be moving ahead.
However, the voters agreed to drop Houston County and the county’s commissioners from the case. The county argued they don’t oversee voting in Houston County; the Houston County Board of Elections does.
In a court filing, the voters say they disagreed with the county’s assessment, but agreed to drop them from the case to avoid “unnecessary litigation over the issue.” Treadwell signed off on the agreement.
However, the lawsuit against the Houston County Board of Elections and its chair Pamela Morgan can continue. According to a filing from the voters, they say that both the voters and Houston County Board of Elections moved to rename the case, removing the U.S.A., Houston County and the commissioners from the case.
Plus, with Houston County itself and its commissioners dropped from the case, Treadwell does not have to rule — as of now — on whether the voters could sue to enforce the Voting Rights Act unless the board of elections makes the same claims.
Source: 13 WMAZ
