Court hearing on Black voter’s challenge to town council begins

FEDERALSBURG, Md. – In Federalsburg, Black voters are asking the town to implement a new election system.

Now the case is going to court. The ACLU of Maryland says the current system negatively impacts the Black community because they cannot overcome the majority.

After a hearing today, the ACLU says the next steps are still a ways off. “The judge decided to give the town 2 weeks to come up with a plan so that they can come up with a plan that might remedy their voting rights violations,” Nick Steiner, ACLU Staff Attorney said.

The ACLU also argues the current system violates the voting rights act of 1965 and calls the town’s proposed solution “insufficient.” The plaintiff, in this case, says town officials need to be representative of their constituents and share lived experiences.

She’s calling this change long overdue considering in the town’s 200-year history there has never once been a Black representative on the council. “I’m 69 years old, I’ve been in Federalsburg all my life, I’ve seen my grandson, my parents, and my neighbors how hard that they worked, and yet we have no people of color on this town board in Federalsburg,” Plaintiff, Roberta Butler said.

The ACLU is hoping the judge will find that voting rights are indeed being violated in Federalsburg and order a remedial plan.