PORT CHESTER, N.Y. — The court-ordered election that allowed residents of one New York town to flip the lever six times for one candidate — and produced a Latino winner — could expand to other towns where minorities complain their voices aren’t being heard.
The unusual election was imposed on Port Chester after a federal judge determined that Latinos were being treated unfairly. Peruvian immigrant Luis Marino, 43, finished fourth in a race for six seats, making him Port Chester’s first Latino trustee.
The 2010 census is expected to show large increases in Latino populations, and lawsuits alleging discrimination are likely to increase, said Rob Richie, executive director of FairVote, a nonprofit election research and reform group.
Port Chester, a village of about 30,000 people, used a system called cumulative voting. All six trustees would be elected at once, and the voters could apportion their six votes as they wished — all six to one candidate, one each to six candidates or any combination.
