Wythe County, Va., residents can breathe a sigh of relief as the Justice Department has reached an agreement with the county, allowing it to bail out from its status as a ‘covered jurisdiction’ under the Voting Rights Act. This move exempts the county and its three political subdivisions from the preclearance requirements of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.
The agreement, in the form of a consent decree, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on [No Date Specified]. The court will retain jurisdiction of the action for 10 years and can reopen the action upon the motion of the attorney general or any aggrieved person alleging conduct by the county that would have originally precluded the county from bailing out if it had occurred during the 10-year period preceding entry of the consent decree.
Under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, certain covered jurisdictions, determined according to Section 4 of the act, are required to seek preclearance for any changes in voting qualifications, standards, practices, or procedures from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia or from the U.S. Attorney General, prior to their implementation.
Wythe County filed its bailout action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on May 3, 2012. Counsel for the county contacted the attorney general prior to filing the action, indicating that the county was interested in seeking a bailout. The county provided the Justice Department with substantial information, and the department conducted an investigation to determine the county’s eligibility.
“After a thorough analysis of the information provided by the county and obtained through the department’s independent investigation, we believe the county has satisfied the bailout requirements,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The collaboration between the county and department assured the resolution of this matter in a manner envisioned by the drafters of the Voting Rights Act.”
The Voting Rights Act requires covered jurisdictions to seek preclearance for any changes in voting qualifications, standards, practices, or procedures. Section 4 of the act provides that a covered jurisdiction may seek to ‘bail out,’ or remove itself from such coverage, and therefore be exempted from the preclearance requirements, by seeking a declaratory judgment before a three-judge panel in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Defendant: Wythe County
Criminal Charges: Bailed from Voting Rights Act
City and State: Wytheville, Virginia
Exact Date: [No Date Specified]
Sentence: Exempted from preclearance requirements of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act
Dollar Amounts: None
Related Materials: Joint Motion for Entry of Consent Judgment and Decree
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Key Facts
- State: Federal
- Category: Civil Rights
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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