Cases & Actions
Serratto v. Town of Mount Pleasant
ELC, along with Abrams Fensterman, LLP, are representing five Hispanic voters in a lawsuit challenging the at-large elections for Mount Pleasant Town Board as a violation of the New York Voting Rights Act. The at-large system dilutes the votes of Hispanic members of the community and denies them an equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice.
STATUS: ACTIVE
UPDATED: February 26, 2024
ISSUES: Vote Dilution
BACKGROUND
The New York Voting Rights Act (NYVRA) was enacted in 2022 to vindicate the right of New Yorkers to be free from discriminatory local election systems. Building on the protections of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, the NYVRA provides a remedy in state law for discriminatory race-based vote dilution by allowing voters to challenge election systems that dilute their votes and deny them equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice. In addition, the NYVRA allows any political subdivision to proactively change its electoral system to remedy a potential violation, and includes causes of action against voter suppression, voter intimidation, and sets up a preclearance regime.
This case, Serratto v. Mount Pleasant, was filed on January 9, 2024, and is the first case to be filed under the NYVRA. The plaintiffs are Sergio Serratto, Anthony Aguirre, Ida Michael, Kathleen Siguenza, and Silvana Tapia.
Defendants’ filed their answer on January 29, 2024 and the case is now in discovery.
DOCUMENTS
Supreme Court of the State of New York
Exhibits
JANUARY 9, 2024
JANUARY 29, 2024