Nearly one out of four residents in the city of Fullerton near Los Angeles is Asian American, yet Asian American candidates are consistently defeated.
A new lawsuit filed by Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Los Angeles, and the ACLU Foundation accuses Fullerton’s at-large voting system of shutting out Asian Americans, reports the Los Angeles Times .
Both groups are asking the city to move to district elections so as not to dilute the Asian American vote. Anaheim voters recently approved district elections after a lawsuit from Latino groups pressured the city into putting the measure on the ballot.
The lawsuit in Anaheim was filed on behalf of Jonathan Paik of the Korean Resource Center.
“The struggle has been we’ve never been asked what we care about,” Paik said. “We’re working to hold elected officials accountable, to finally have them respond to our needs.”
You can learn more about what’s behind the lawsuit in the Los Angeles Times .