Correspondence from Harris to Judge Thompson

    MOORE, KENDRICK, GLASSROTH, HARRIS, 

BUsH & WHITE 
ATTORNEYS AT LAW 

  

/ 

RANDOLPH B. MOORE. Ill 

L. GILBERT KENDRICK 410 SOUTH PERRY STREET 

STEPHEN R. GLASSROTH 
PER Tr 

RICK HARRI 
JOHN B oh 

MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA 36102 

TELEPHONE (205) . 

MICHAEL R. WHITE 
E (205) 264-9900 

November 6, 1986 

‘Honorable Myron Thompson 
United States District Judge 
Federal Courthouse 
Montgomery, Alabama 36014 

HAND-DELIVERY 

RE: Dillard v. Crenshaw County 
85-T-1332-N 
Crenshaw County Segment of Case 

Dear Judge Thompson: 

I am in receipt of your November 3 Judgment and Injunction 

and subsequent Memorandum Opinion in this case. The injunction 

requires the defendants to conduct a new round of elections for 

district five of the Crenshaw County Commission before January 

1, 1987, to adopt procedures to insure that only registered 

voters who live in district five are permitted to vote in the 

election, and to submit to the Court, by November 7, procedures 

to implement the new requirements. This letter is a response to 

your order; I am sending a copy to all other counsel of record 

in this case. 

I interpret your injunction to be directed at Crenshaw 

County and to the present members of the Crenshaw County 

Commission insofar as it requires the adoption and submission of 

procedures for approval. I represent Crenshaw County and the 

commission members, and have been instructed to submit the 

following plan for approval. 

A. Voter Identification Procedures 

With respect to procedures for insuring that only eligible 

district five registered voters are permitted to vote in the 

election, Crenshaw County proposes a multi-part procedure: 

1. Since changing existing beat or precinct lines might 

confuse voters, might result in voters being unable to find 

their new polling place, would delay the elections at least 

 



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Honorable Myron Thompson 

November 6, 1986 
Page 2 

  

three months if Alabama law is to be followed, and would require 
pre-clearance from the Justice Department, the elections will be 

held at existing polling places for current beats or precincts 
in which any part of district five is located. Those beats are 
numbered 3, 5,06, 7,.13, and 14. While the county commission 
has caused new beat lines to be drawn which will in the future 
eliminate the possibility of voters crossing district lines, 
final adoption of the new beat lines (including publication of 
the new beat lines in the newspaper and a public hearing) will 
be deferred until after the district five elections in order to 

reduce confusion. 

2. Beat 3 is located entirely within district five and 
therefore all registered voters in beat 3 will be entitled to 
vote in the new elections. The county commission, its 
employees, and such individuals as the commission may hire for 
this particular task will obtain from the Crenshaw County Board 
of Registrars a list of registered voters for beats 5, 6,4, 13, 

and 14. Using (a) personal knowledge, (b) the addresses listed 
by the Board of Registrars, (c) water department lists, and 

(d) other county records, the commission will identify the 
physical location of the homes of as many voters as is 
possible. The remaining registered voters will be contacted by 
individuals who will go to their homes and ascertain where each 
is located. This will primarily be accomplished by following 
route and box numbers utilized by the postal service. Having 
located the residences of each registered voter in the affected 
beats, the commission will compile for each beat a list of 
registered voters living in district five. 

3. Each person registering to vote before the new 
elections would be identified to his or her proper county 
commission district by the Board of Registrars, using the same 
method as is used to determine the beat in which the new voter 
resides. After registration for each election closes, the Board 
of Registrars should submit a supplemental list of district five 
voters by beat to the Circuit Clerk and to the Probate Judge. 

4. The lists of district five registered voters will be 

delivered to the Circuit Clerk for her use in insuring that only 
eligible voters cast absentee ballots. Another copy of the 
lists will be delivered to the probate judge's office for 
distribution to election officials in each beat. While the 
county commission has no control over the use of these lists 

 



Honorable Myron Thompson 

November 6, 1986 
Page 3 

  

once compiled, it is suggested that the lists could be used in 
each beat as the "check-off sheet" which the poll workers must 
examine before any voter is entitled to vote. Voters who 
believe they are entitled to vote in the district five election 
but whose names do not appear on the lists could be permitted to 
vote a challenged ballot in the same manner as voters in regular 
elections under existing Alabama law. 

B. Election Schedule 

The Court requires that new elections be held and 
completed by January 1, 1987. The county commission feels this 
is undesirable and may prejudice the interests of the plaintiff 
class in this case. Also, because only fifty-five days remain 
until the end of the year, certain time limits imposed by 
Alabama law would need to be severely compromised in order to 
meet the deadline. 

Ala. Code 817-4-129 (1975) requires that a list of 
registered voters entitled to vote in an upcoming primary 
election shall be published in a newspaper of general 
circulation in the county on or before the twentieth day 
preceding the primary. The purpose of the requirement is to 
allow time for voters to examine the list top insure that 
voters' names are not inadvertently excluded from it. Since an 
entirely new list is being compiled for this election, it seems 

desirable to observe this time limit. 

Ala. Code 8§17-10-5 (1975) requires that a list of 
qualified voters be delivered to the absentee election manager 
(Ann Tate, as Circuit Clerk, is absentee election manager of 

Crenshaw County) at least forty-five days before a primary 
election. This requirement was recently amended from the old 
twenty-one day requirement. While forty-five days may not be 
necessary for this election, the list does need to be compiled 
and delivered by a date which will permit ample time for casting 
of absentee ballots. Between each election, material must be 
printed, applications for absentee ballots must be received, the 
ballots must be mailed to the voters, and the ballots must be 

returned. An insufficient amount of time between elections 
could result in voters being unable to exercise the right to 
cast absentee ballots. Alabama law presently uses twenty-one 
days as the period between primaries and run-offs. Using this 
amount of time as a guide, the county commission suggests that 

 



Honorable Myron Thompson 
November 6, 1986 
Page 4 

  

twenty-one days be allowed between the time the list is 

delivered and the first primary is held, twenty-one days between 

the primary and run-off, and another twenty-one days between the 

run-off and the general election. 

Ala. Code 8517-16-20 (1975) requires that candidates 

wishing to qualify for a public office do so at least sixty days 

before the primary. There is nothing crucial about requiring 

the full sixty days, although there should be a specific time 

period provided for the qualification proccess, and that period 

must be cut off in sufficient time before the primary to allow 

absentee ballots to be printed, and to allow in turn for the 

newly-printed ballots to be mailed and returned before the 

primary election. The county commission suggests that the 

qualifying period open immediately and close four weeks before 

the primary. 

Allowing three weeks between each election and three weeks 

before the first primary as a period for publishing a list of 

qualified voters and for casting absentee ballots produces a 

total of nine weeks, less time than now exists before the new 

year. More importantly, compiling an accurate list of qualified 

voters will be a time-consuming task, and that is a task which 

must be completed before absentee ballots in the first primary 

may be cast. The county commission believes that five to six 

weeks may be necessary in order to develop this list. Locating 

registered voters who are unknown to the county commission and 

whose mailing addresses give only route and box numbers will be 

a labor-intensive job. Ample time should be allowed in order to 

prevent an inaccurate list, which would disenfranchise qualified 

voters. 

The commission proposes the following schedule for the new 

elections: 

Immediately-- Qualification period 

opens 

Immediately -- County commission begins 

work on new list 

Immediately-- Voters may apply for 

absentee ballots 

 



% @® 

Honorable Myron Thompson 

November 6, 1986 
Page 5 

  

December 9, 1986 (Tuesday)-- Qualification period 
closes 

December 15, 1986 (Monday)-- Deadline for preparation 
and delivery of list of 
qualified voters in 
district five 

December 16, 1986 (Tuesday)-- Absentee election period 

begins 

January 6, 1987 (Tuesday)-- Primary elections 

January 19, 1987 (Monday)-- County commissioners 
elected pursuant to law in 
recent general election, 
including district five 
county commissioner, are 

seated on normal date as 
required by law 

January 27, 1987 (Tuesday)-- Run-off elections 

February 17, 1987 (Tuesday)-- General election 

February 20, 1987 (Friday)-- Deadline for certifying 

results of general 
election to Secretary of 
State 

The county has no control over the process by which the 

Secretary of State certifies the results of the election. As 

soon as the certification is received, however, the new district 

five commissioner could be seated. 

I hope that you find the proposals to be feasible and 

desirable, and that you find my comments helpful. 

Respectfully, 

7 bn ¢)- 
Rick Harris 

RH/ hos 

ce: All Counsel of record