WHITE PLAINS – A federal judge in White Plains Friday ordered the Village of Port Chester to implement a remedy for its violation of the Voting Rights Act.

The US government filed a complaint in December 2006 alleging the Port Chester at-large system of electing its board of trustees diluted the voting strength of the village’s Hispanic citizens in violation of federal law. The government also enjoined the village from using the at-large election system in March 2007 to elect two new trustees.

Under Judge Stephen Robinson’s order, the village election scheduled for March 2010 will be delayed until at least June 2010 to implement a voter education program.

The judge ordered a cumulative voting system be implemented. Under that system, each voter is given several votes depending on the number of positions that are open. The voter may cast all of his or her votes for a single candidate or may allocate votes among candidates.

The court ordered the parties to develop a detailed voter education and training program for the court’s approval by early next month.