November 3, 2022 — Brewer Storefront filed suit in federal court on behalf of plaintiffs Jessica Garcia Shafer and Dona Kim Murphey against the Pearland Independent School District (PISD) and its trustees, alleging that the school district’s election system violates the Voting Rights Act of 1965 because it denies fair representation to voters of color.
Filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Galveston Division, the lawsuit claims that the school district’s at-large voting system denies Hispanic, African American 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.
The lawsuit alleges that, based on the district’s demographics, one would expect that at least one Latino, African American or Asian school board member could be elected. Yet, all seven school board members are white.
“Our clients believe the at-large election system used by Pearland ISD denies citizens of color a fair opportunity to elect candidates of their choosing,” says William A. Brewer III, partner at Brewer Storefront and lead counsel for the plaintiffs. “The at-large voting scheme utilized by the school district is pernicious and unconstitutional. Our clients believe the system should be abandoned – to enable a more inclusive future and where every citizen’s voice is valued in the process of electing school district board members.”
Home to more than 21,000 students, PISD is a richly diverse school district. As of the 2020-21 school year, students of color formed nearly 67% of the total student body, according to the Texas Education Agency (“TEA”) 2020-21 Texas Academic Performance Reports (TAPR). About 33% of all PISD students were white, 36.8% Hispanic, 11.1% Asian, 14.9% African American, and 3.9% two or more races.
Under the current electoral system, school board members are elected at large. Candidates run for “places” but do not represent any specific geographic area. The lawsuit claims the at-large system rewards white voters for voting as a bloc and denies political opportunity to non-white voters.
Shafer, who is Hispanic, and Murphey, who is Asian, both previously ran for the PISD school board and lost – Shafer in 2020 and 2021, and Murphey in 2019. They are also mothers whose children attend PISD schools. Ms. Murphey holds an MD PhD and Ms. Shafer is a trained epidemiologist. They both lost to white candidates who allegedly benefited from the at-large voting system.
In referring to PISD’s at-large election system, the lawsuit states: “In practice the at-large system discourages minority or minority-preferred candidates from seeking office because it effectively functions as a white-controlled referendum on all candidates. In PISD, a bloc of white voters controls all seven Trustee positions.”
The lawsuit alleges that PISD has a history of minority candidates running for the board and losing to white candidates. Since just 2018, 11 minority candidates have run for the board and lost.
According to the lawsuit, the numbers of Hispanic, African American and Asian voters are sufficiently large and geographically compact such that at least one single-member electoral district could be created in which voters of color are a majority.
The lawsuit says, “The chilling effects of the at-large system empowers the current Board, which fails to reflect the composition of the real stakeholders in the public-school system.” The lawsuit adds, “PISD’s discriminatory voting system is a relic of the District’s past and must be changed.”
The Storefront has successfully challenged violations of the Voting Rights Act on behalf of other communities of interest in previous actions.
The Storefront successfully resolved Voting Rights Act cases with the Richardson Independent School District in January 2019, the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District in 2015, and the Grand Prairie Independent School District in 2014. All districts now utilize remodeled voting systems. The Storefront also secured trial victories in Voting Rights Act cases against the Irving Independent School District in 2014, the City of Farmers Branch in 2012, and the City of Irving in 2009. Those lawsuits paved the way for the formation of new voting systems and the election of minority candidates.
Mr. Brewer is joined in representing plaintiffs by Blaine Adams, an associate in the firm’s Dallas office.