Brewer Storefront filed suit in federal court on January 26, 2018, on behalf of plaintiff David Tyson, Jr. against the Richardson Independent School District (RISD), alleging that the school district’s election system violates the Voting Rights Act of 1965 because it denies fair representation to African Americans and other non-white voters. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, the lawsuit claims that the school district’s at-large voting system denies African American, Latino and Asian voters a fair opportunity to elect school board representatives of their choice. The Storefront is the community service legal affiliate of Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors.
“Many in the community – our client included – believe that Richardson ISD is unfairly denying people of color an equal opportunity to participate in the electoral process,” says William A. Brewer III, partner at Brewer Storefront and lead counsel for plaintiffDavid Tyson. “Our hope is that the school board’s leadership will recognize its responsibility to embrace a more inclusive future – one that provides representation for this multiracial and ethnically diverse school district.”
KERA News reported on the lawsuit, and The Dallas Morning News also published a front page article about the case, and Fox 4 Dallas aired a TV report on the lawsuit.
Dallas Morning News Columnist James Ragland also wrote favorably about the case in a column titled, "It's time to change how Richardson ISD elects its trustees, and David Tyson is the man to do it."
Storefront Lawsuit Claims Richardson ISD Electoral System Violates Voting Rights Act
