WHY IS LOWELL CHANGING ITS VOTING SYSTEM?
Lowell is rapidly approaching a majority minority city, with 49 percent of its population foreign-born or an ethnic/racial minority. However, at present, a distinct political and economic divide exists between established longer-term residents and relative newcomers.
In May 2017, 12 Asian and Latinx residents, represented by Ropes and Gray LLP and Lawyers for Civil Rights, filed a lawsuit (translations of the filing available here) that challenged the City of Lowell’s current election system. The suit charged that the at-large plurality dilutes the power of minority residents, in violation of the Federal Voting Act and U.S. Constitution. The City of Lowell fought the lawsuit for two years before settling with the plaintiffs in May 2019. Under the terms of the settlement, the City of Lowell agreed to change the way that city residents elect their city council and school committee members. City government, with resident input and in agreement with the lawsuit plaintiffs, settled on a hybrid voting system, with 8 district-based seats and 3 at-large seats for City Council. Once Lowell creates the City Council districts, it will combine those districts to create 4 School Committee districts. Each of those districts will elect their own School Committee member plus 2 at-large seats.
This move towards a district based system is expected to diversity Lowell’s City Council and School Committee as well as give a voice to the communities of Lowell via neighborhood representatives, particularly communities of color.
Stars on the map represent residences for City Council and School Committee members for the past three election cycles. "Red" indicates areas of the city more densely populated by minority residents
#LOWELLLINES:
Lowell is changing to a district-based system for City Council and School Committee following the settlement of a federal Voting Rights Act lawsuit that alleged that the City’s former electoral system illegally diluted the vote of the City’s communities of color. District lines will be drawn in Summer 2020 by an independent expert selected by the City and Plaintiffs, with input from the community.
Video:
This Public meeting in Centralville in 2018 provided information and answered residents’ questions about the Voting Rights Lawsuit filed against the city of Lowell.
Lowell Alliance, in partnership with other community organizations, is launching the #LowellLines campaign. Through this initiative, Lowell Alliance, Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association, and Latinx Community Center for Empowerment, together with Lawyers for Civil Rights, will engage Lowell’s diverse communities on the city’s redistricting process through multilingual written materials, videos, and other digital content, including an interactive map at www.districtr.org/lowell developed by researchers at Tufts University. Residents city wide will have a chance to contribute to this “unity map” and make an impact on the development of a more just and equitable districting system.
To follow the conversation online, please use the hashtag #LowellLines.