Justice Department sues Georgia county, saying elections violate rights of Black voters

SAVANNAH, Ga. — The U.S. Justice Department sued a Georgia county Thursday, alleging that its method of electing county commissioners discriminates against Black voters.

Houston County, home to 163,000 people south of Macon, uses countywide elections to fill each of its five commission seats.

The civil lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court says those at-large elections violate the Voting Rights Act by unfairly diluting the influence of Black voters, who make up nearly one-third of the Houston County's electorate.

“White voters cast their ballots sufficiently as a bloc to defeat Black voters’ preferred candidate” in countywide elections for Houston County commissioner, the lawsuit said.

The Justice Department said Houston County has elected just one Black commissioner since the end of the Civil War. All of the current commissioners are white, including Chairman Dan Perdue. His father is Sonny Perdue, the former Georgia governor and U.S. agriculture secretary who now oversees Georgia's public universities.

Black candidates would have a fairer chance of winning if the county was divided into districts, with each district electing its own commissioner, the Justice Department said.

The department wants a judge to prohibit Houston County from conducting further countywide elections for commission seats and order officials to choose a new, fairer system for electing commissioners.

Though largely rural, Houston County is home to Robins Air Force Base, Georgia's largest industrial complex with a workforce of 22,000 military service members, civilians and contractors.

Commissioners said in a statement Thursday they are investigating the Justice Department's allegations. They pledged that county officials “will always follow the law.”

“If we agree with DOJ regarding a possible violation of the Voting Rights Act after reviewing all of the documents and evidence, we will take appropriate action at that time,” the commissioners said.