With O’Day on the stand, plaintiffs Maria Loya and her husband, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School Board member Oscar de la Torre, sat in the audience. Loya sued the city in 2015 using the California Voting Rights Act, a state law that makes it easier for minorities to overhaul local election systems if they can show minorities vote differently than their white neighbors. Dozens of cities have drawn voting districts rather than go to trial after receiving lawsuit threats brought by the same team of attorneys.

The judge will determine whether the city’s at-large election system discriminates against minority voters but it is not clear how her ruling will impact the upcoming election in November.

The plaintiffs paint O’Day and de la Torre as political rivals living in the same neighborhood. Experts for Loya said majority-Latino precincts voted for de la Torre for City Council in 2016 rather than O’Day, who won the seat with support from wealthy, white voters from other neighborhoods.

Read More: http://www.smdp.com/councilmember-terry-oday-takes-the-stand-in-controversial-voting-rights-lawsuit/169096