Correspondence from Lani Guinier to Finance Re Whitfield v. Clinton

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I) References to traditional barriers:

H. Rep. at 14: "Despite the gains in increased minority regis-
tration and voting and in the number of minority elected offici-
aIs, the Committee has observed, during each consideration of the
extension of the Act, continued manipulation of registration
procedures and the electoral process which effectively exclude
minority participation from aII stages of the political process."

H. Rep. at L4z 'A study conducted by the U.S. Commission on
Civil Rights on the enforcement of the Act since 1975, further
butresses the Committee's findings that voting violations are
stilI occurring with shocking frequency."/26

26. U.S. Commission on Civil Rights "The Voting Rights Act:
UnfulfiIled Goa1s, Sept. I981.

H. Rep. at 14z "Hearings on H.R.3112 indicate that there are
numerous practices and procedures which act as continued barriers
to registration and voting.

These practices include: inconvenient location and hours of
registration, dual registration for county and city elections,
refusal to appoint minority registration and electj-on officials,j-ntimidation and harassment, frequent and unnecessary purgings
and burdensome reregistration requirements, and failure to
provide or abusive manipulation of assistance to i1literates."
H. Rep. at 15: examples from the hearings of harassment and
intimidation during registration and voting.

H. Debate at H5841, Glickman: "The Subcommittee on Civil and
Constitutional Rights found overwhelming evidence that the act is
sti11 needed. Unfortunately, there are areas of the country
where individuals are still discriminated against.... "

H. Debate at H6841, Rodino: "Some might point to these successes
and argue the protections of the law are no longer needed. But
the extensive hearings by the Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil and
Constitutional Rights convinced even those skeptics that continu-
ance of the act, including preclearance, was absolutely vita1."
H. Debate at H6845, Hyde: "we heard Iat the hqrarings] tales of
abuses in areas where polling booths are not available, where
reregistrations is demanded, but the registration offices are
open frorn 4 to 9 (sic), 1 day a week, and all sorts of subtle and
no!-so-subtle deprivations of people's right to vote."
H . Debate at H6847 , Bingharn: " The U S. Commission on Civil

harassment and intimida-Rights has once again found that
tion of minority voters anC candidates

There are ccntinuing problems
voting. " (gives examples )

continue to persist.
in registration and in



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H. Debate at H6848, Frost: "Witness after witness appeared
before the committee to report on lingering instances of voter
discrimination. "

H. Debate at H6850, Washington: "The witnesses before us Iat the
hearj-ngs ] gave us a chamber of horrors, instance after instance
in which the act had been violated. There had been intimidation,
threats, coercion, po11 changes with no notice, individuals in
the South forced to vote at an open table where everyone could
see them and intimidation was rampant. . Murtipre registra-
tj-on has been required. Inconvenient voting Iocatj-ons have been
mandated primarily in black counties or black locales. There
have been unnecessary runoffs and slate requirements where no
slates were needed. "

H. Debate at H6869, FowIer: "In Georgiar ds in most Southern
States, black registraton generally remains 20 percent lower that(sic) white regi-stration, with just over one-harf of the black
population of voting age registered to vote. And voting abuses
continue. As recently as 1980, in Taliaferro county, the sheriff
and his deputy, both white, took it upon themselves to deriver
absentee ballots to black households and help voters fill them
out. The results were predictable. My state is not the
on1y, nor is it the worst, offender in the area of voting
regulati-ons and procedures. . . ."
H. Debate at H6873, Markey: "Despite substantiar advancement of
voting rights, the battle is not yet won. During hearings on the
act, extensive evidence was presented showing the perpetuation of
efforts to exclude minorj-ties from the electoral process at aIl
stages. "