The Town of Hempstead is getting closer to having to change its at-large voting system after having the federal courts rule against the municipality in a recent appeal.

A federal appeals court recently refused to rehear the case, which the plaintiffs describe as being a voting rights case.

The case against the town is a class action suit. The plaintiffs' lawyer, Fred Brewington stated, "We represent 87,000 African Americans in the Town of Hempstead. It is a class-action in the largest township in the United States, representing every African American resident in the Town of Hempstead." This class has been certified by the Eastern District Court as a class of African American voters. The named plaintiffs for the case are Dorothy Goosby and Samuel Prioleau, who, according to Brewington, "are just representative of the entire situation." Goosby is currently a Democratic candidate for the Hempstead Town Board.

The suit, which has been going on since 1988 and has gone through both the trial and appellate levels, claims that African Americans, who make up 12 percent of the Town of Hempstead, do not have a fair representation under the at-large voting system. According to Brewington, the suit alleges the violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Curtis Fisher, the only black councilmember of the town board, appointed in 1993 disagrees with this, saying that the case is not about race but about politics. "If I was a black Democrat everybody would be happy," said Fisher in an interview following the Second Circuit Court Panel's ruling against the town, this summer. "They want to replace a black Republican with a black Democrat, so they want my job," continued Fisher.

The decision against the town, if upheld, will create six councilmanic districts in the township, roughly equal in population with one district being primarily a minority district. All Long Island Townships currently use the at-large voting system.

Fisher stated that he believes councilmanic districts will be counterproductive to civil rights that African Americans have been fighting for. He added that when people become segregated, they become suspicious and that is when discrimination starts.

Following the recent refusal of the federal courts to rehear the case, the town asked the appeals court to delay forcing a special town board election so they can ask the Supreme Court to hear the case. This delay would allow the town 90 days to appeal to the Supreme Court. The implementation of the councilmanic districts would not take place until after the final ruling of the Supreme Court if this delay is granted. Nassau Democratic Leader Thomas DiNapoli, in a statement following the Second Circuit Court of Appeals decision, said, "Because of the unanimous decision by the prestigious and highly-respected Second Circuit Court of Appeals the town's chances of a successful appeal to the United States Supreme Court in this case are slim to none."

Brewington stated, "I anticipate that eventually the town will have to acquiesce and the current form of government will be replaced by councilmanic districts." He added that there is no way of knowing when the councilmanic districts would be implemented, because, "It depends on what the town attempts to do to try to stretch this thing out further and waste taxpayer money."