A federal judge has ruled that the election system in Dodge City, Kansas, doesn’t violate the voting rights of its Latino majority. U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren concluded in an order Wednesday evening that Dodge City’s practice of electing all five of its city commissioners at large does not prevent candidates backed by Latino voters from holding office. Two Latino residents argued in a lawsuit that the system discriminated against Latino voters and violated the U.S. Constitution and the landmark 1965 federal Voting Rights Act. Dodge City is a former Wild West town that inspired the long-running television series “Gunsmoke,” and 64% of its 27,000 residents are Latino.
