Sep 24, 2008 -- Court Clears Voting Rights Act Bailout for Virginia County

A three-judge federal court in Washington, DC has approved a consent judgment and decree for Washington County, Virginia, lifting the requirement that the county submit any proposed voting changes to the Department of Justice (DOJ) or the DC Court for approval before implementation. The county is the sixteenth local government to obtain a bailout under the Voting Rights Act since the Act was amended in 1982.

The bailout means that Washington County will no longer be required to submit any voting changes to the Department of Justice Department (DOJ) for preclearance review, and will give local election officials greater flexibility in making many routine voting and election changes that will benefit voters. In order to obtain a bailout from the Voting Rights Act, counties and municipalities must file suit against the U.S. Department of Justice. In cases like Washington County's, where the Justice Department believes the County has met the bailout requirements, DOJ enters into a consent judgment and decree with the County.

"Washington County's solid record of full compliance with the Voting Rights Act over an extended period of time made it relatively easy for the County to receive the bailout," said J. Gerald Hebert, Executive Director of the Campaign Legal Center, who handled the County's case.

Voting and election officials in Washington County had made efforts over the years to implement fair and open voter registration and election procedures. These actions made it easy to establish the facts demonstrating the County's bailout eligibility. Hebert said Washington County's bailout should encourage other local governments to pursue a bailout.

"Local governments who are not engaging in unlawful voting practices or procedures, and that's many of them subject to the Act's special provisions, should seek to bail out," Hebert said.

Hebert added that he thought more local governments would likely pursue bailouts in the future, especially now that the Act's special provisions have been extended for twenty-five years and the bailout provisions remained unchanged. "Bailout is neither a cumbersome nor expensive process for any local government that has achieved full, sustained compliance with the Voting Rights Act," Hebert observed.

Hebert has represented all sixteen Virginia jurisdictions that have obtained bailouts.

The other jurisdictions to bailout are: the cities of Fairfax, Salem, Winchester, and the counties of Amherst, Augusta, Botetourt, Essex, Frederick, Greene, Middlesex, Page, Roanoke, Rockingham, Shenandoah, and Warren. One other Virginia County, Pulaski County, reached agreement with DOJ to bailout several years ago, but failed to have its bailout papers approved by a three-judge court, as required by the Act.

To read the final consent judgment, click here.