Latino residents sue over Compton college voting areas.

Latino residents sue over Compton college voting areas. COMPTON, Calif. (AP) -- Two residents of the Compton CommunityCollege District sued the district over its voting areas, charging theboundaries are preventing Latinos from fairly participating in governingboard Noun 1. governing board - a board that manages the affairs of an institutionboard - a committee having supervisory powers; "the board has seven members" elections. Alex and Luis Landeros, brothers who are active in local Latinopolitical affairs, filed suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court ongrounds that the district is violating the California Voting Rights Act Voting Rights ActAct passed by the U.S. Congress in 1965 to ensure the voting rights of African Americans. Though the Constitution's 15th Amendment (passed 1870) had guaranteed the right to vote regardless of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude,” of 2001, the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment, and the CaliforniaEducation Code. Attorney Joaquin Avila said the lawsuit seeks to change the way thecollege district's four voting areas are drawn because the currentapportionment The process by which legislative seats are distributed among units entitled to representation; determination of the number of representatives that a state, county, or other subdivision may send to a legislative body. The U.S. dilutes the Latino vote. One voting area, which includes the city of Compton, elects twotrustees on an at-large basis. Three other trustees are elected fromsingle-member areas. The suit seeks to have five, single-member areas, each representinga similar population based on the 2010 census, said Avila, a lawprofessor at Seattle University who specializes in voting fights law. Compton Community College lost state accreditation in 2005 and isnow operated by E1 Camino Community College District, but retains itsown Board of Trustees as it works to regain accreditation. The Compton district comprises seven cities with sizeable Hispanicpopulations located southwest of downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or . One of thedistrict's five trustees is Hispanic. The lawsuit is similar to one Avila filed in December against thecity of Compton on behalf of three Hispanic residents. The suit seeks tooverturn Compton's system of at-large City Council elections infavor of a district election system that would more easily enable aHispanic resident to win office. Although the city is nearly 70 percent Latino, no Hispanic residenthas been elected to the City Council or other offices. A judge denied a request to delay the council elections to be heldthis month. A full trial is scheduled on the case next year, Avila said. Avila said he is preparing a lawsuit against the Compton UnifiedSchool District Compton Unified School District is a school district in Compton, Los Angeles County, California. It serves Compton and the unincorporated neighborhoods of West Compton and East Compton. board on similar grounds.