A growing number of Virginia localities are being allowed to free themselves from the restrictive Voting Rights Act of 1965, after convincing the Justice Department that they no longer discriminate against minorities at the polls. The department cleared five Virginia jurisdictions this summer, most recently Culpeper County. Four other communities, including Prince William County, are waiting for the department to rule on their applications.
The Voting Rights Act requires certain states and localities with histories of racial discrimination to get Justice Department approval for any changes they make to their electoral systems, from the drawing of election districts to the placement of voter registration centers.
J. Gerald Hebert, the Alexandria lawyer who handled all the recent Virginia cases, said the exemptions give local officials more flexibility in elections.
“Between now and 2031 [when the act expires], local governments are going to make a lot of voting changes that DOJ will have to approve. And that takes money and takes time,” he said.
Corey Stewart, chairman of the Prince William Board of Supervisors, said the decision to seek a bailout has bipartisan support in the county.
“We’ve grown 40 percent in the last 10 years, and it’s frequently necessary to split precincts, move voting locations, to adjust for exploding growth in the county. Because of the requirements in the Voting Rights Act, it slows that whole process down and makes it much more burdensome,” Stewart said.
To get out from under the Voting Rights Act, jurisdictions must prove that they have not discriminated over 10 years. So far, more than 20 Virginia communities have been exempted from the act.
Hebert said communities can prove they no longer discriminate by having minorities serve on election boards or county councils or by ensuring that the majority of adult residents are registered to vote.
Stewart said officials in Prince William also made sure they had the support of minority groups before seeking the bailout.
“I don’t think discrimination has existed in Prince William County in a pervasive way in a few decades,” he said.
No state has yet been exempted from the act, though New Hampshire recently applied for a bailout.
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli last year said the state no longer needs federal oversight, only to have opponents criticize him for being racially insensitive. Cuccinelli said he would not seek a bailout for the state anytime soon.
