Letter from Lani Guinier to Mr. Tony Harrison RE: Memorandum on restrictive registration barriers

    Lesa,E&renseH.
April 13, 1984

IE. lbny Harrison
Denpq:atic National Ccrmtittee
1625 }tassactrusetts Arzentre, N.W.
!{ashingEon, D.C. 20036

Dear Tbny:

I enclose a @Fy of a renoran&.m on restrictive'registr:aLion ba:ria:s
w"ith three agpendices. Se\reral renedial a6rproadtes should be onsidered.
As you lclcn'1, and as ttre renprandun nenLions, we are pu::suing a litiga-
tion sua@y to challenge, on a stats.ride basj-s, tJ:e state lars and
plocedrires ttrat rrake it brrrdensore and, scnetines inpossiJrle for blacks,
especially in n-rral al€as, to legister to r,ote. In additjon, we are
prepared to help dnft a bill that rr,ou-Id ban restrictirre reg:istration
pr:acUices for feds:al elections. At least t torc opEions mre to rnj.:rd inF
ne*lately. Gre is to arend tlre Voti-ng Rights Act, (42 U.S.C. S1973dd-2)
to pennit post card registration in all federal elections. Secondly, I
unde:stand kpresentatives S\rift. and. Hau,kins have already intr.oduced a
bilI (H.n. 4367) tl.at worrld set aside si:<ty million dolla::s for regisU:a-
tion to be paid to states that irrprorie general :egist-ration oS4nrturities
or insLiU,rte door to door registraLion caryaigns. Ttre biIL, introdtred
I{crrcnber 10, 1983, anends the ftsderal ElecLion Canpaip Act..

Witkr regard to your question about ttre state of the reord on the discrj:rr
inatory effect. of the rnajoriQz rrcte/seond prinary requjJenEnt, I tvould
refer you to several soures that in my opinion denonstrate tlre require
nEnt's adrre::se furpact sr black political participation. First, the
DeparErent of Jr"stice has, in its I8 year enforcenent of SecLion 5 of the
tlcting Ri$lts Act, e)rtensive erperience w'ith rerriewing the opa:ation of
the rnajority \rote regr:irenent in tlre Section 5 overed jurisdictions,
vtLich, in addition to Oklatrqna and Arlcansas, are ttre only states that
use sudr a nrle and r.:.se it only for nqrui:ration hy a political partlr, i.e.,
in prirm:r7 elections. In fact, beti/r,een 1975 and 1980, 56 objec'tions we:re
interposed by tlre Justice Departnent to tire rnajority \Dte reguir€nent.
Grly annexaLions and changes to at-large elecLions were tlre sulcject of
rore objections.

Second, the case laur, inchding seve:lal Srprene Court, opinions, oonsistently
recognizes the discrimirntory inpact of a rnajority vote requirenent in a
jr:ri-sdiction qrtrere rrcting is r:acially polarized. (See, for exanple, Wtrite
v. Bgrester, 412 U.S. 755 (1973), Citv of Port ar*n:r v. tlrited States, 103
s. eE336-it sss (reg2), *ra
opinion, Jan. 27, L98$ at 37-38, coFlt attadrcd.)

Contributians are deductible lm U.S. income tau yurposes

The NAAGP LEGAL DEFENSE & EDUCAIIoNAL FUND is not part ol the National Association lor the Advancement ol Colored People although it
was lounded by it and shares its commitment to 0qual rights. L0F has had lor over 25 years a separate 8oard, program, stalf, ollice and budget.

NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND, INC.

99 Hudson Street, New york, N.y. .10013o(212) 219.1900



Itlr. lbry Eia:riscn -2- Ap,ril 13, 1984

Finally, the leqislative Lr-istory of the 1982 aren&rent*s to the tlcting
Rig1ts-iEt, :eflects the finding bV Ocngrress tLrat tlre najority \rcte re-
Erir"neo,t is a roEing proce&:re that tends to discriminate aga.inst
mirority rrctere. Ftrr exarple, at Pa€e 29 of the Senate Eport, the Senate
fidiciairy 6rrmttte includes ttre rmjority vote rrequirenent in a list of
prpcedrues t}at epically entrancr= ttre opportunity for $,tlite \rotel:s to
hiscri*inate and infr:liC the opporer-rnity for blad< rrrts:s to elect candi-
dates of their droice.

Given tlre eviderce that js arrailable already, it may sesn urEcessa:rf to
hold rore hearjngs on tftis issrre. I do not tfljJlk, hourerrer, that it t^,ott1d

be easy to ggt tfie congfess to act on this issue t]ris session. lttolefore,
if you are talking r.eafisUicaUy about introducing leg:islation'ttrat trculd
bar-r:-se of gre rnajority rloee requiaerent at least for aIL fedenl elections,
it nalr nrake sense-to fpta hearings in ttre onte>cE, of a specific piece of
Iegislation hifrich, thou*r it nay ro't, pass, wor:Id at least focr:s ontinued
attenLion on the dinensi"qrs of the prcblern-

Please let rne lssr, if you have any fr:rttrer qr:estions.

Sirrsrely,
./)
Ia.)
(Dictated, but not read)
tS/x