On April 30, 2022, Spectrum News 1 reported on a voting rights lawsuit brought on behalf of plaintiff Paige Dixon by Brewer Storefront challenging Lewisville ISD’s system of electing trustees. The lawsuit argues that the election system violates the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and denies equal representation to people of color.
William Brewer, Dixon’s attorney, said that many Texas school districts are diverse but that is not reflected on school boards because of at-large voting systems used to elect trustees. “That means that if you have a voting [bloc] that is involved, turns out at the ballot box, that group can control the election of all seven seats,” he said.
Brewer said that similar lawsuits will continue to come up as the state grows and more school districts with at-large election systems have gaps in representation.
Dixon lives in Lewisville and ran for the Lewisville ISD school board last year and lost.
To read more, click here.