Statement of Mateo Arteaga
All communities in Yakima should be able to participate fairly and equally in the process of electing officals to our city council. I decided to join this voting rights lawsuit because I am concerned about the lack of representatives of the city's largest minority on the council. Under the current system, Latino candidates who win the support of their own district cannot get elected because they then need to be supported citywide. This needs to change so that all major communities Yakima are served by elected representatives on the city council.
The federal Voting Rights Act provides a means of addressing this problem. I am proud to participate in a lawsuit that asks our legal system to ensure that all citizens in Yakima have a meaningful vote.
Statement of Rogelio Montes
I decided to participate in this lawsuit because I believe the current system we have does not allow all voters equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice. Although Latinos make up 41% of the population in Yakima and a majority of the voters in some neighborhoods of the city, we are not able to elect candidates that we choose. The way the election system for Yakima City Council is arranged now, only candidates who are able to win city-wide elections can win any city council seat. That is not a fair system for Yakima, and for the Latino residents of the city who remain essentially unrepresented on the Yakima City Council.
The federal Voting Rights Act was enacted during the civil rights era of the 1960s, when many minorities around the nation were fighting for equal rights. The time is now for Latinos in Yakima to make use of this legal tool to make sure that the large and growing Latino population in Yakima is able to participate fully in the civic life of our community.
Decidí tomar parte en esta demanda porque creo que el sistema actual que tenemos no permite a todos los votantes la oportunidad de igualdad, para elegir a candidatos de su preferencia. Aunque los latinos hacen el 41% de la población de Yakima, y una mayoría de votantes en algunos vecindarios de la ciudad, no podemos elegir candidatos de nuestra preferencia. El sistema de elecciones para el Concilio de la Ciudad de Yakima que al momento tenemos está diseñado, solamente para candidatos quienes pueden ganar elecciones donde todos los votantes de toda la ciudad votan y así poder ganar cualquier posición en el concilio de la ciudad. Ese no es un sistema justo para Yakima, y para los residentes latinos de la ciudad quienes esencialmente quedan sin representación en el Concilio de la Ciudad de Yakima.
El Acta Federal del Derecho al Voto fue decretado durante la era de los derechos civiles en los años sesentas, cuando muchas minorías alrededor de la nación luchaban para tener los mismos derechos. Ahora, es el momento de que los latinos en Yakima utilicen esta herramienta legal y se aseguraren de que la población Latina grande y que sigue creciendo, pueda participar completamente en la vida cívica de nuestra comunidad.
