 In practice, the minority voters were unable to elect a candidate of their choice in all but a few elections in the three decades since the system was established.In January 2001, the US Department of Justice filed suit against the county government for racial discrimination based on the at-large system, which the suit contended violates Sec.2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by diluting voting power.The Department had tried to negotiate with the county over changes in November 2000.