ALBUQUERQUE, NM -- Today, in a ruling handed down in the Second Judicial Court, Judge Nash ruled that the City of Albuquerque did not have to correct the city’s mal-apportioned city council districts before the October elections. However, as a consequence of this lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico, the city has agreed to implement the reapportioned districts immediately instead of in 2013 as they had originally planned.
The following statement can be attributed to ACLU-NM Managing Attorney Laura Schauer Ives:
“We are pleased that, as a consequence of the ACLU of New Mexico’s lawsuit, the city will redistrict and implement those changes immediately. Our primary concern was that the citizens who live in districts one and five on Albuquerque’s West Side would be grossly underrepresented until 2013, when the city initially intended to implement the new districts. However, in its closing arguments, the city stated that “as soon as a redistricting plan is approved by the Mayor and is published for five days, it will go into effect.” This means that, although redistricting will not be completed in time for the October election, West Side residents will be equally represented a few months from now as required under the Constitution.”
The ACLU of New Mexico still maintains that redistricting could be completed before the October elections and the plaintiffs are currently considering an appeal to the judge’s ruling.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 18, 2011
CONTACT: Micah McCoy, (505) 266-5915 x.1003 or mmccoy@aclu-nm.org
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