The Daily Citizen, Dalton, GA

Election-Local

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  • America Gruner talks about voter districts during a meeting of the League of Women Voters on Tuesday. (Misty Watson/The Daily Citizen)

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January 25, 2012

Group wants to change city’s voting system

Believes Hispanics are at a disadvantage

Charles Oliver charlesoliver@daltoncitizen.com

— Hispanics make up 47 percent of Dalton’s population and 40 percent of its voting-age population, but there are no Hispanics on the City Council.

America Gruner, president of the Coalition of Latino Leaders (CLILA), said Dalton’s system of at-large voting makes it difficult for Hispanics to get elected in Dalton. Under that system, voters from across the city vote in elections for all four council districts.

“We have proposed to the city to vote district by district so that each district can choose their own representation and vote for the people they want,” Gruner told the Dalton Area League of Women Voters Tuesday.

CLILA and officials from the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO) met last year with Dalton officials to express their concerns about at-large voting.

Hispanics make up 67 percent of the voting-age population in Dalton’s City Council Wards 2 and 3, which cover most of the east side of the city. But they account for just 18.1 percent of registered voters in Ward 2 and 23.52 percent of registered voters in Ward 3, according to information provided by city officials.

City-wide, figures from the Whitfield County Board of Elections and Registrars show that just 1,253 of Dalton’s 12,167 registered voters, or 10.3 percent, identify as Hispanic.

Some League members asked Gruner if the low rate of registration and voting among Dalton’s Hispanics might be why no Hispanic has been elected.

Gruner said her group has been trying to register more Hispanics to vote.

“Many of them are in the process of citizenship, and we are trying to register them and get them to vote (when they become citizens). But it is a long process,” she said.

League member Winnie Hargis asked why the Hispanic community would want a candidate elected primarily by Hispanics.

“Why can’t you get behind a candidate and get votes regardless of whether they are Hispanic or black or white?” she said.

Gruner said the current system of at-large voting prevented that.

“If a candidate runs now, the west side (of the city) is going to determine the election,” she said, referring to the fact that all the current council members live on the west side of the city.

City officials said they have looked at redrawing the districts, which currently run east to west, to run basically north to south.

“We looked at some possible maps, and they really didn’t seem to change much,” said City Council member George Sadosuk.

Some council members said they haven’t made any promises but they are still willing to talk to CLILA and GALEO.

“If we can do something to get more people to turn out and vote I’d be willing to look at it,” said Dalton City Council member Dick Lowrey.

Gruner said Hispanic leaders hope to avoid any lawsuits against the city and hope to work with the City Council to end at-large voting.

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