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Cerritos College Settles Voter Discrimination Lawsuit For $55,000

NORWALK (AP) — Cerritos Community College has agreed to pay $55,000 to settle a lawsuit that charged its trustee electoral system discriminated against Latino voters.

The college said Thursday the sum is a portion of the $140,000 sought by the three Latino voters who filed the suit to recover their attorneys' fees and costs.

In a statement, the college says it believes the plaintiffs were not entitled to any money, but agreed to settle rather than incur more legal fees.

The three voters sued the college last September charging that its at-large trustee electoral system violated the California Voting Rights Act.

The college had already started changing the system to by-district elections. The new system was adopted in December and will be used for the first time in this November's board election.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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