Racial Bloc Voting Notes From Senate Hearings (Testimony and Prepared Statements)

    Tasti

R,ACIAL BLOE VOTI}TG

TToTES F?.Ot.{ SE}IATE HEARI}IGI

Januarv 21, I98 2

of Attornev General l{i1lram French Smith

(paqe G9) Et" Voting Rishts Act had as "";l"critical
purpose'' rrto encourage states and localities to bring
blacks anrl 0ther racial minorities into the main-

stream of American political lif.e." f,not just to
quard. against racial rliscrinination in historically
Ciscrininatory jurisdictions.l "in revisiting the

J
statute in 1992, the emphasis should be placed, on the
positive objectives of the leqislation rather than

Cwelling on tire chapter that led tc passacre of
the act 17 lrears Elclo.tr

(?I-72) (gut then sar/s'he opposes the results +-est,

sarTlng the then-existiriq act hac succeedec i-n onenino

acces,s. )

(paoe :5)(jiscussi.ng the proooseC set+-ion 2 effects
+-est,, anC saying i ts "loqical ccncl usion" i 5

"proportional representation" o: "cluotas"T
L?,J> 

.J

"T|-fis c?rtainlrr contrarv tc aalr of our basic
orinciple,s of go'.lernment.

AIso underltrin<T all of this is sort of an

i:noli-cation taat bracks wil-1 on'll'' vote fo= 'olacl<

candidates and c+nite5 r.ri 1I only ',7ote for *ririte

can,'i.iC.ates. That of corrrse is not trr:e. One of
the best exano-l-es of that is the eit:r of Lost Ancfeles,

',rhere a bi-ac1< naYor of course lras electerl 'rith rnanl'

..rhi la rrA+6e

I thinl: tl:e concept, the idea, c! the 'institutionalizinq

of a systen 'rv':1 
j.ch ttoul4 be basea. upon the prernise

-uhat 1:'l acl:s are {oinc1 to rlote f or black can:1i dates

and r.rirites are qoinc.f to vcte f or r.rhite candi dates



Racial oolarization, 2

is a very ':nfortunate scheme."

(thi-s was a favorite theme of, opoonents of the
resr:Its test -- that it assurned tirat raci-al lcl-oc

votinq existed everln'rhere. Of course, the caseg-

€hat use the concept nake clear that it ls sometring
to be Droven. )

er from Rerrno AAG- Civil R,rqnts Div. of Justice

(fSO)fn response to question from subcommittee

about the Department's policv regarding preclearance
of annexations, P.eynolds refers to f.i-@, 'r.
Unite<l States ease , 446 U. S. 155, 187 (1980) ,

r.rhich upheld denial of preclearance to a qroup of
annexations. T-\e letter notes that the Department

supported this result. The letter, io footnote 9,

cites the eourtts reasonins:
The drstrict eor:rtIs 'lecision, the Court he]d,

'..ras not "e1earl-r,/ erroneous" -- three rlilutirre factcrs
rrere cited: the at-1-arqe eleetora'l sYstem, the
resi :l-enclr rec',-f i :ement f cr of f iceho l-A.e:s , anrl

tl-le iiqh .l.eoree of racial ':Ioe '.rct1nri. "
Tllen, sav,s tl:e Depa:tment in e'raluatinq annexatlons

foL-'l-o"rs tire satnd.arcs followed bv tre federal courts]
"T'ris is {one on a sasq-$1r-ca.3e basis in consiCeration
cf a1l- tne relevant facts.

:\nongr the factcrs considered are the effects of
the prcposed annexation, upon the racial make-up of
the total population, votinq-age population, and

registered voters. I{or.rever, the Department does not
u.se anl, rictid mathematical cut-off . Each su,bmission

is erraLuated individually. The existinq rnethod of
qo.tlernment, inCluding'..Ilrether tile e-l.ectroal sVstern

Deo't) to Hatc'h su!:committee



Racial polarization, 3

:rovides for ma joritv or plirralitrr vot:.nc{ , f-or
fu11-Sl-ate cr "sinole-shot" votino, anC for electi-on
bv district or at-1arcle votincr, is considered,
alcnq r,rlth such natters as the extent of racial bloc
votinq. "

Testimonv of Prof. ''l'tr;tlter Berns (.1,m. Enterprise Inst.)
( opponent )

(paoe 231) "So section.2, as amended, will require
proportional reDresentation, and this, ds I argue
in rny prepared statement, will oromote raciaL bloc
voting on the part of non',rhites and ',uhites alike,
and sueh voting tlil1 have unfortunate consecluences. "r

"And I woader, if a qroup's intere.st is defined
b"i race, r,rhy -'ve bother to hold elections and what r.re

nean be representative government. I:Iere I will
read from the concluding sectioa of rnlz prepared.
statement:

rRepresencati're government does not imply pro-
_oortional =epresentation or any version of it
that is li1<ely to enhance bloc voting blz discrete
oroups. The Framers of the Constitution refer=ed
to such groups as 'factions, t and they did their
best to minirnize their influence. The idea that
a leaislatlve assemby should be a 'mirrorr or a
I ref Leetion' of the people r.ras advaoced and
aCvaneeC assiduousllr by the opponents of the
ConStitutj-on, the qrcup r\re call anti-Federalists.',

(Berns, of course, ignores the 14th and. 15th amenCments!)

P:eoared. statement of Ben'iami-n Hooks (5xec. Dir., ttrAACP)

(pacre 275) "Hhat is alwa.rs 'amenable to calibrati-on,
i',1-f . Chairnan, is the result of a challenged election



Racial- polarization, 4

scleme. In nany instances, no blacl< will have been

elected !n the d,istrict I s historv despite the f ac+-

that there may be racial bloc votj-ng and a mrnority
oopulaticn of fiflY percent or better. "

Prepare,l statement of Vilma l4artinez (Exee. Dir. Gen.

Counsel - I.!-\LDEF )

(paqe 3OO) "t{exi-can Americans have been barred
from equal access to the political process by larvs

sueh as those I '1ave rlescribecl above $trrqinq voting
-ro1}s, et={ as '.re11 as bv at-Iargre election systems

racial crerrvmandering, violations of the one person/
one vote pr:-ncinle and blz extensive racially
polarized vctiilg. "

(tl-ris statement is found in l'ter discussion cf
sectirn 5, but it surelv applies tc the need for
the act as a r,rhole.)

Januarrr 23. :!-o32

!estinon.r ef Lauqhli-n !.IcDo:ralrl (Di-:., Sor-rthern f.en.
ofii-ce - -LCLIi fc'rnd,. . fne. )

l-(narre 359)[_. assinn reference to b-lce vcti:rq as a

sinner tactoy'

P:ep::ed Stalenent
( 331) I l-tclo::a1C :i --es r-he fri-rref iel-d Count'.', S.C. case't-
(j'l:C.aiir '.,. Lrrbran4) in "rhic=r Judre Citapnan f ounC,



?.acia-l polarizat'i on, 5

'!:efore i,lociLe (tle deci.sion 'ras rer;ersed, after tlooile)
an unccnstitutional infrinoement of r;otino riohts in
oart .becausS "flrere is bloe ,,zotinn ,b.r the ,+hites on

a sca.le that his eourt has nerrer i:efore observed . ..
t{1ites absolr:tel'l refuse to r./ote for a bIack."
(38?) flatls EdqefieLC Countv had a historv of\
intentionaL =ace dlscrimination, but after l4obile
the court found a failure to prove :-nten{

F(395) lmcoonald also cites Crcss ". 3gIter, ir
:^rhich there were statements tiru6)"race had, alr+avsJ
been cri-tical in citlr politics. He ft trtac:<

\\winninq candi date f or Citlr CounciJ-Jtestif ied that
Ithe primarir thing' that had caused black candj-dates
io lose in e] ections f or the City Council :tas race:
I It I s j"reen on racial 'l ines. t "

Preoare4 Statenent of Barrrz G::oss (CU.ty) (opoonent)

(paqe 4431 'rln the ease of b'!acl<s thrs lTtot/e
t-lproporilonal representaticL/ also resuj.res

nail+,ai n bot:r that racial bloc voting is in
the norn and that it is, or ought to be a

Ccnst"i-tuti-cnaLLrT protected norrn. For rac'iaI blocl<
votincT tc be the norm it is further recrr:ired that
all i:lacl<s ha'/e the sane interest,s. Tlris is both a
ncli-tica-]- frction and a racist rnisperception."
(Gross tl:en sai/s, someti":es blaclcs vote for l..rh j-tes

, 1J-ke Smrth, prtts the eart
ionores ',rhai srou-l-4. -be a-one

rappenincr )

'ratinc ",rere the rc:rn ii 1s

[..
us to
fact

and ,rice-r/ers&, anC sonetimes J:laclls are srtinq votes]l)
(;i.ryain, ncte that Gross
::efore 't,re :torse -- l'le

'i1 iaCt t:rat is r,rl13lrg
ilTnriaa.i i f, -fCial-'ll_CC_-. -19 9 -. ,

if



R.aci aI pol-arization, 5

'l:ard tc see hcrrr !{r. Bradley becarne nat"ror of Los

.incel es, uor 'tor.r intelliqent pol itici ans can

conceive of backrnq him for the qoveinorsnap of
CaLiforni a.

npart frorn t::e artificiality of q=oup construction
and lack of racial bloc voting, there are other
reasons for a lacl< of proportionalitlz
1444) in e] ectoral

-tresu1ts." (Cites lack of interest, resourees, etc.J
"I'Ie have, too, to consider whether even if racia'|.
block voting rlrere the norrn and 'rrere permissible ,

rt 'rrould be r..rorth protectino. . .. riie "rish for the di-vision
tc breal< 4Lown.'l

Te.stirnonw of l{enrrr L. Iularsh (t.tavor Richnond Va. )

ttllZlQ,."loneing to comments bv Senator East on

proportionaL representation J)
"Senator, I aopreeiate vour concern, and I knorv we

all r+ant to reach the day trrhere race will not be a

factor in the political process, that :^rhites will
l:e e'l eeti-ng blacks and blacks will ,be el-edtino

'..rhi-tes, which is happenino on some occasions in this
ccuat::y, and rue want that to be the standard.

I';'e are coi-ncr throuah a pericd of deaLincr '..rith a
1:i-storv r.rhere there has .been discrinination acrainst
blaclcs in this countrv, anC rve are stiLl in that
na-i aA.
-rJu:4v,-{ , a a a

r cruess frcm the point of vier,r of mino /-' )rrElf , (tt.l
r*hen vou asl< for the riqht to participate in the
poliiical orocess, tvhat you're askj.ng f or is a riqht
tc subject Vourself to the trill of the majority,
anr,rav, so r.rhen vou get elected ia rnost situations,
'Iou'=e trr,rtno to convinqs the minoritlr persons that
t':e.7 shorrld rro a-'l-ong with vour -oolitical point cf



R.acia'l oolari-zation, 7

!ta at.t

So itts ver:/ inportant that ;as vou trlz tc oe'u

yourself in a position to be a minoritv, to persuade

the majority to qo alonct rqith vour point of viel, You

should not be frustraied in that effort. In Vi-rc''nia,
r*e iave I 51ack in '10 members of the Senate, 4 l:lacks
in L00 i-n the i{ouse, even tnorrgh'.lerre 20 percent of
::re population. I{e have to fiqht and scrap to get
thcse persons elected.

.\nC if vou pass a bill that would frustrate us

from getting that I bIack, or those 4 blacks out of
LOO, and, l out of 40, then you are further frustrating-'
the political prccess, and f know you tvouldn't want

tc do that, but f'm just trying tc say that what

':erie'askinq for is an opportunity to use our

ninority status effectivelY, and thatrs not askino
.for a }ot. "
(tlarsh seems to t,ry to sav that it's participation
,in the political proces.s thatts sorlcrht. If thatrs
tlle rroiet of .the '.i11, the intent and gEtEg
of whi te vote-rs in votincr for rlif ferent peopLe '

f:on blaclcs is irrelevant. )

P:cecarerl Statement of Dr. Edr.{ard J. ErLer (Uat'I
Iltirnanities Ce ( orcPonent )

(5030 "... once political Dor,rer is concei-'led of in
exclusivelv racial terms, the pressure to ::egard those
interests in tl:ose same terrns '..ri1l- also become

:-rresistable. One consequence wi.l-1 the the intensi-
:lrcati-on of racial bloc votinqr. Legislatures, whether
'l oca1, state, oi national, '^/i11 f ind it diff icu1t,
if not :-inr:ossible, to find a ecnnon around for the



,v,8.:
SL+."A L<-

Ma.c.{huos

Racial polarization, I

:iepresentative process that transcends irnmediate

racial class considerations. "

(Isn't he raall1z saying that j'i:'s best 'tii;r'i: trlacks

an,l. other ninori ti-es are unrepresented? ! )

Febrr:arv 2 t9B2

Ooenins Statement bv i{atc\

(paoe 515) (.-Iatch makes a passina reference to
racially polarized voting, referreC to in House

report as factor in proof; he sinolv sal/s that
racially polarized votinq, as :vell as a number

of cther factors, trould be the"scintilla of cther
evj-d.ence he sEfs-r^rould establish a section 2 viol-a-
tion under the results standard. )

Testimonv of P:of . Susan A. McManr:s (univ. Of '{o'.rston)

(paqe 543) F"" oroblern for state & l-ocal qovern-
rnents rras been? "that the eoncepts r:sed bv the

-l
Jr:stiee Depart:nent have never been defined i-n

an-v sort of clear anrl concise manner, partieularl-.I
eoncepts such as racial polarization and bloc
./ctinq... "

"One test tnat is often useC to determine rvhetlrer

the minoritlz \/ote has been or r+il-l be dil-uteC is
racial polarrzation. This, technicallv, cccurs
:.rhen citizens cf cne racial cTroup uniforrn'1 v vote
for one canrli:iate and citizens of anotrer raciaL



Racial oolari.zatlon, 9

uniforml'/ vote for another. i'Ihile this sounds

simple.enough, it reallv is verl: Cifficult to
measure. " lfha qoes on to say ifs aLso unclear
hor.r rnuch polarization is too *,r.hl1

v)

"of course, the basic pufpose of the test is to
d.eter:nine '.rhether raee is the primarv and exclusive
determinant of individual voting ,lecisions across
time in any given community.. Now this measure has

severe i shortcorninrrs . "
ti'icManus nentions:

-- geographic dispersal of members of raclal groups
(544) -- races that have more than trvo candidates

-- snslsritlr as to what is "severe" po.Larization]

"Another even more basic issue is r+hether racial
bloc voting is the desired effect. Is the intent
of the Votino Riqht.s Act to produee electoral svstems
t-\at rer.rard racially segregate4 residentiaL patterns?
That, of course, is a cduestion that t1e Concfress must
3p gr^l€f .

As tre act has been applier!. thus far, t:re Jtrstice
Department has qenerallv regarded as diLutj-ve any

svstem that prorluces a leoisl-ative body whose members

Co aot ref 'lect the qeneral- makeup of the population.
fn other "rords, proportional representatj-on has
been the basic test of effect, rather than the
resoonsiveness of electeC officials, regardless of
their race or ethnicitv. "

(l,tcManus qoes on to say that the Conqress should
not leave a vaque test in the Voting R.ights Act
for the Justice Department to interr:ret. ft is
eLear that she '+a.s failincr to distinrruish section
2 from section 5, forshe goest on tb enDhasize the
need for :easonabLe t:aiLor-rt provisi-ons. )



lacial oolarization, 10

(547 ) Sen. :JATC:I. ... Coulrl You elaborat-e 'rpon

vour notion t'i1at tr"le standard used b1"r t',1e Justice
Departnent under .section 5 places a premium upon

racial isolation and racial seqregation?

u;. McM.\ITUS. ... As I pointed out in constructing
racial polarization scores, the premium is on

rdentiflring racially homogeneous precincts and

using that as the test. The bottom line inference
is that racial polarization, or having people in
raciaLly segregated precinCts, i's tlre optimal
solutj-on or the ideal, which I f ind verY hard to
accept as a cltizen.

Sen. IIATCH. Basicalllzr ''rhat vou seem to be

savlncr is that r.ve are insurino Qhat nrav in[realitv
be ccmfortable racial political chettos.

l,I.s. !,[cMANUS. Exactly. ','trhen vou put such a

oremiun o,n a test such a bloc voting scores and

racial_ polarization scores, one can infer nothing

else but that that is desired.
Sen. HATC{. So those who are propc'sinq the

change in section 2 actua1l1z malz be doing a lot
of harm to ininority voters in this country.

IIs. MCMAITUS. I think lrou are absolutely ecrrect.

(lryain, thev interchange lsglg for bloc voting with
the 5!5iIg for bloc votino. )

(I.[cl,lanus claims that Hispanics r.roulC be especialIlT
hr:rt _beeause their residential 0atterns differ from

that of blacks.)

(548) Sen. :{ATCI{. Can rrou elaborate upon the reasons

fcr rzour u.ncertainties abor:t r'rhat rac!aI bloc voting
leaLlv is? For instance, ',rhat is :acially po]-arized



RaciaI polarization, 11

',rotins? How do we identify it? I'Ihat should its
1egal and constitutional siqnj-ficance be?

,". Mc!!AITUS. I,IeII, as I mentioned in my testimony,
it is very difficult to decide or to determine,
as a social scientist helping governrnents prepare

statistics, exactlrT what is meant by racial voting
and bloc votlng and ',rhat is severe.

(f or example, Macllanus savs, !'.'han lookinq f or
"racially homoceneous" precincts to determine how

members of each racial group vote, is a precinct
homogeneous if itts Civided 9O1"-LO%? '?O%-30:.6fl

But is it Si.{"ery dif f icult t.r. come up r.^rith a
consistent definition of what racial polarization
is and ho'rr ]rou measure it. Aoain, I salz t-rat the
hardest part i s calculatinq the scores for areas

'.rhere vou have both groups and volr cannot identifrr
homocreneous preeincts, particularl'I fcr llisoanics.

Preoared Statement

( 551) (I,lacl.lanus reDeats her ief inition cf :r:acial
polarization)

savs there are four main unanst.rered-(555) [14ac]ianus
truestions:

-- hor,r to measure b6$c voting in nulti-candidate
r1d6d

ttrhart +-o do i-f there are no racially homogieneous

orecincts?
popul-ation has several minority qrouDs that vote
{ifferentlv
ruhat Ie*zel- of oolarization is "hishlv .sion:-f icant " l.J



Racial ool-arizati on, l2

Testirnonv of. Joaqr:in G. Avila (Assoc. Counsel I'IALDEF )

(paqe 553) '"When the previous wj-tness @acuanus]
discussed that, really, there \{ere no concentrations
of Hispanics across the State of Texas, I take

issue with that position. I also take issue with
t}refactthatitisveryrlffficulttoidentifyor
define raclalllz polarized voting. You ta]k to the

minority communities in Texas. They knor+ 'vhat
racial]-y polarizerl voting is. Thelr knor+ '.rhat it is
r^rhen a person gces out to vote,a i{isOanic qOes out

to,Tote and tries to qet access into the city council,
an,:l vet the citv couneil is not responsive to the

particularize'i needs of the l4exi-can-Ameri ean comlllu-

nitv and \as not paved andv streets or prcvi'led

anv kinc of municipal services to eertain areas.

Therr knor.r '.r\at raciallv'' po]arizerl voting is when

political onposition, such as in the citlz of

Loclchart, takes our net{spaper ads a couple of
,veeks before the elctions and paints the mj-nority

cand.idates seekinq election as being-raCicals in
orC.er to brinct out $e llhite Anqlo r/o!e.

They knor.r thtt'glltally polarizec voting is,
i

so I suqgest tnat if there is anv doubt in the
prof essor's mind as to r'rrrere in f act racially
ocLarized votinq exists an.1 rr'hether in fac+- llispanics
are geograohicallY
(564) .lisoersed t\rcuqhout the Btate
of Texas, I rn'rite the professor to exami-ne her

censLr.s statistics. rr

(A'riIa sa\ts that racial polarization -o1us

disproportionate impact ras net/er, rr!![6r]t more,

1e<1 a court to strike an eleet-jon scheme.)



3,acia1 Pclari zat'i on, 'l 
3

FJ
( 5 "I ) laecause of l'lobile'
"Our only message to the
.lave in the Sout'rr,rest is
brinq these l arusr.tits.

I'Ie have to te1l that to our people; our constituents
in Beeville, Tex. , for instance. fn Bee County and

the city of Beeville, you have close to 50 pereent
Hispani-c population. The reason vou do not have

siqnificant minoritr/ reoresentation !n the city
ccuncil of Beevil] e is because of raciallv poLari zed

votinq. In a,lCition to that, '{hen rTou harre raeiallv
polarized 'totinq, rrcu have a lc'.rer elrqi'cl-e voter
oogulation, 1-otIer registration rates for ,'{ispanics,
and there is discrimination in that instance, 'vhen
the city cor-rnciI and the elected cfficj-a1s continue
to iqnore the neerls of I{ispanics."

( luesti-oning bv Senator East: )

(573) Sen. Sasto ... I tirink thi-s proportional
reDresentation, t:1is ef f ec"s t'est, this ctltarantee,
is qoinq to fracrment and polatLze and elininate harmonv

in .\merican nolitics. AIl cf it ooes ba'cl< to what I
think again is a misreading os- the l5th lmenCrnent,

rvhich is the rioht of eac\ and everv one of tls to
reoister anC 'rote. gr.1f !.r€ cer:tainlv orrq\t :rot to
reaC it to cr:arantee the riqht 6€. oartlc'-rlar ethnic,
:elicri-crrs, or racial orcupinqs to hol:1 cff ice. ilhat
rlo rrou thinl< of it?

I1-:. IVIL;\. I'Ie11, f :1o not thinl< cur position
ira's ever been to have a guaranteed ninority seat in
anv eleete<l bodv. Our organization interprets ti:e
LSlh AmenCment ---tve used to, anvaray, prior tc i.lobiLe --
as :rot onl.r toucring upon Dhysical access to the polls
br:t a] so tc incumbent situations r+''lere rzou 'lave an

e] ection structure
( 5 "4 ) tlat di lute.s or n'i ni rnizes the inoact

s intent stan:lard)
J

i{ispanic cornrnrrnitJ/ tnat vre

that 'rre can no lonqer



S.acial- -oolarization , L4

of rni-noritlr votinq strencfth r\'hen t're rninir:nization cr
CiLution of that \lote is ]:ase"l on raciallrr polari zed

voti:rcf and is basecl on a \istorv of votinc, .iiscrimi-

nation anrl rliscrirnination r:rithin a political

sr:bdi-vlsion.

@e, re not af ter proportional representaticn, and

I^I'1ite ha6 no'' such stanctari) lione cf the ca'ses
J

t\at !.rere involved in Texas or other jurisdictions
r,rith '+hicn I am famj-Iiar even had incorporated .:+ithin

their rerned./ the notion of a proportional reoresenta-
tion scheme. Rather, the focus rEas on avoiding the
fraclmentation of a cohesive mrnoritlz votin61 ccmmunity

in the context of raciallv polarized votino.
so the amendment to section 2 tuould not raise the

noti-on that r.re are seekinct to quarahiee m:-noritlz

seats. In fact, aII of cur lit:-oation in the South-

',rest has :rever used that as a basie Drem'se. The

i:retn;-se has al-'sa1r5 l:een to trv to preserve or protect
the integrity of a cohesive minoritv"t votincr
eommunitlr in the context'-of racially t:olarized voti-ncr.

/in Texas, there are 3 majo.ritv i{ispanic '{istrlcts,- ' \r-

represented r:v Anolos.J
So we are not talkinq about guaranteeing the riqht

of minorities tc be elected; t're are tai-1<ing aboat
m:-norities havinq an irnPacrrt into the ool-itical
orocess and tc make sure that impact is not being
di-minished because of racist concerns.

P:epared Statement

(532) (,lvila notes that the Justi-ce Departrnent f aileC
to fi.!.e an o'lriection under .section 5 to drst=ict in
Texas trrhich) "clranmvents the pre.lominantlrz llispanic
areas of 5an Antonio... Extensive erri-rlence coneerni-nq

tre existence cf raciallv oolarized. votinrt !','as .ororr!-deC

t,o tlre Der:artrnent of Jt:sti-ce."



raciallv polarized voting, 15

(590) "A revier.r of voting rig\1s decision prior to
Mobile will reveal that the Courts focused'on the
impact of a given electoral scheme on minoritlz
voting strength, ilot on the electability of
rninoritlr candidates. For exanplE^in Kirksev
v. BoarC of Supervisors of llind Countv, 554 F.2d
139, L52 (Strr Cj.r. 1977 ) (en banc), cert. den.,
434 U.S. 877, the Court held that a plan adopted
by a Court should not divide a cohesive minority
voting area in a community where raci ally polarized
voting exi.sts. "

Testi:nonv of Steven Suitts (5xec. Dir.,Southern
R.eqion Council )

(.2uestioning blr Sen. EasE)
(e Oz) ltr. Suitts.... Thr fact is that with the
siift of populaticn in North Ca=olj-na sj-nce the
133Os Cratrincf at-Iarqe slTsterns, esDecially in
netrcpolitaa areas'and in the seacoast area, did
not prevent someone frcm ooing to the baLLot box, but
because of the oractt:es of l:loc voting in manlz of
those ccmrnunities, it diC bar blac'l< citizens to
lce ab'te to ]ra'le that vote counted, -.p:st as if it
rrere tantamount to .someone saving, Yes, you may mark
trat ballot, llllt no, f will not put it il the baLLot
box.

Fe'oruar',r 2 , 1982

Testrmon'r of Prof . John Bunze'! (Iloover Inst. ) (cpoonent)

(553) Sen. HATC-{. Professor Bdnzel, the i{ouse rep?t'A



racial-1rr l:olari-ze4 votina, l-5

on li[.?. 3I]-2 states on Pacre 30,

ft 'r,rouId 'ce illegal for an at-iarqe
el ection scherne fcr a particuLar State ct local
':oriy to pernit a block votinq majority over a
sul:stantiaL period of tirne cqnsistentJ-y to defeat
n:noritv candidates or CandlCates identif ied :v'i th
the interest of a racial or language ninority.
Hcrv r./ould t,re be able to deternine tvhether a

candi-clate was " iCentif ied rrith the interests of a

racial- or langr:aqe minoritv"?
Mr. BUHZEL. ,:^ietl, that is one of the real

problgms. ...

PreoareC Statenent

(559) "The presumDtion is that rninori-ties "rill- be

abLe tc increase their politrcal- st:engtir anC

influence onl1z if Conqress changes Section ? of the
r/otinq R.iqhts Act so that blaclcs and i{ispanics iave_

nore tj:an ecuaL ac:ess to the baLl-ot box. ?hev must

somel.:cr,r be ass'-r:ed cf equal electoral r€slll+.s- The

center cf concern 'rouId mo\re frcn e',! irinat:-ng
raciallv notivated discriminat-r on in {ee votinc
.process to endorsing a theorlz of cr:oup :epiesenta-
lion -,hat '.roul-C Dusn cur pol-iti-cs c"loser to rnstitu-
ti cnalizino a svstem cf. .singLe-rnernlaer 'Li stri-cts
an.l. racial t:1cc '/oti-ncl . "

Testinr:v cl Hen. -lenrrr Ki:]"sev ( S:ata Se:1. -- liiss. )

(5?0-?L) (D':;i:rg questioninq bv Sen. l'l,etzenbaum,

i(i:kserz cites results of a poll taj<en of t'rhite voters
in Jaclcson after defeat of a referendun proposino
elinination of at'large votincl svstsm.) "The
noll- ancno 'rhi-'e voters shor'JeC that 5l- percent
cf those '..1'ro vcterl to retain at-lar<le elections did
30 for cne or more racial reasons.... "



racialll/ Dolarized 'loting , L7

(33:L it n:cr:rt cause racial tension
35"L -- ',rou1d encouraoe black part:-cipaticn
409/, --- n:-aht nal<e it possib!-e for blacks to

serve on citv ccunci'l
337'", -- n:q\t result in rnv beincv reDi:esenterl l:v

a Derson of another race. )

P:eoareC Statenent

(l?il "In the state of lrti-ssissippi, because of :-ts

hlstcrv of discrimination, raciaL l:loc votins,
:na-,iorit1' vote requirement, -orohibition on singit'6-

shot votiag, and discriminatorlz partiz politics, 3t-
larrte elections remain a Eajor met5od of discriminating
aoainst black citizens."

SuJ:rrnj-ssion bv Ki?ksev entitled "Questions and

tnsvers clthe Section 2 "Restlts" Stan':tard
n4 c 1OQ?v.: 9a Lrria

(-C7) l-;:ot"s thai in i{hite v. ?,egester, district court
fcr:nd, inter aI:-a,1 "a pattern of :acj-all'r polarized

-l

' ':otinc slro'.ri-ro t\at rrace is stiil aa imoortant
issue in Be:<ar Countv and that because of ii,
llex:can-Anericans are frozen into .?ernanent ooLitical
nrnorities destined for constant Cefeat at the hands,
of the eontrollincr political majorities.r"

festimonv of !.Iichael Levin (cu}trY-P\i1. ) (oDponent)

( T2o ) " sta1l nore ominouslv, tfr" f-s"""e] report
{eclaras that an election scheme r'rould be i1Ieqa1
if it unjntentionallv perrnitted the :ecrr:Iar rlefeat
cf 'm:ncri tv candidates or canri.idates identif ied
.riit': the i-n-ccrcst cf- a racial- c'c lanrruage rninoritv. r



raciallv polarized'roting, 18

idho sha1I deciCe a minority's interest independently
of hos,r i t votes? E,esponse: that's exactlv tfhat shqul-<!t.-
be done -- look at r.rhether minoritr: and majority
voter vote differentlY]] Some blockS, like Jetus,.J
regularlv vote aoainst what others rrroul-d see as

their interests. "
(Levin makes the same

on p. 738. )

Prepared Statement

( ?39) "Even if the interests of the oroups covered

):y the Voting Riqhts Act coincide with their self-
interest, iS it not Sias to guarantee their interests
and not those of other crrot:ps? In anv case, anyone

whc thinks that voter interest follow.s color
as if German, Je'eish, Italian anC hr.A.S.P. blocs will
autornaticall-rr eoalesce into a uniflf:-ncl'.vhiteness
just to oopose blackness is attributino to the
ordinary voter a Dreoccupation with race more

usually found in lTazi propaganda. " ( I )

resi )

Submi-ssion entitled: "The t/otinq Ricrhts Act in
Alabama: :\ Current Legal Assessment

( :'79) "A In'rnlter of l\Iabama's colitrcal subdj-'.zi sions
are co''.ze-rne<1 J:r; electron l arvs r,r\i gh Lv intent ci
effect 4.r1ute t1e vote of miloritY electors. Perhaps

the nost ne-rzasi'le of these is t:e at-l-arf,e sr/stem

cf alecticn. Ir eountie.s cr m'..tnieipali-lies r'rhere

lctaClls :onSti--ute .Less t"ran a na-icritrz cf t:le
a'Ion{-,-r*rta anr-r. racial-Ly poi-ari zed rtetincI occurs,

iJ..qv',

t--T.rs eleetio:: sr.rstem in most cases results in fa'i '!ure

point in his prePared statement



raciallv Po.ia::izeri. rzotinq, 19

f or minori t:z candidat€s. '!

(,loint Cneter for Pol i tical?estirnour of }rrnanrl De:J-n-g!

(800) (tn g,iqefielc countv ease (Mccain v. Lvbrand)

l:he court said:)
,nThe?e is sti1l a lonq historrr of raci.al

Ciscrimination 1n all Ereas of l-if,e. There is
l:1oc votr-ng b'z the whites on a sea'! e tais cor:rt has

never loefore observed, and all arlvances nade by

the l:lacl<s have been under some tllpe of cou'rt order. ..'
If l:lack candicates lose in the normal give-anc-take

of the po1:-tical arena, then the courts may 116g inter-

fere.Under::o.theoryofthelar'rcanacourtdirect
a unite tc vote for a black or a'black to vote for

a ',rn:.te. llo''.'ever, i-f there is oroof , and there
:s amp'le proof :-:1 this case, that the balcl< candi-
dates tenc to l-cse not on their nerits but solel-.I

l:ecuase of ti:eir race, then the cor:rts can onl-v f :-nd

tbat t?:.e hl-acl'* 'roting strencrth has been dil';ted
::nder the St,rster,l and 4.eclare the Sairne :.:ncc-stituti-ona1. r

i.l:th a.ll- :l-r-re respect, f thinl< that i5 r'rhat the
i.Ih:r-te staficar.r. is aborrt. That is r,rhat,t're re.sults
test is about. T'bat !5 r'rhat sect.i cn ? is about.

T:rat is t::e stanC.arrl "re ha^-. That Ls the stanrlard
:'e r,'culd lri:e +-c a:o !:ael< to. "

?repa:ed. Statenent

(3.19) "I l:cpe :-: 1I3s beomce clea: I3r'r n6r,'7 ti':'at'

arnended Secti or 2, l rlce i'Ilta+,e v._:leqe.ste:, aOpli-es

.aiv in tl:at snal I catector'/ of pJ-aces 'rl:ere tne::e :s
-1r -l'.rrctic::j rri
( 3?0 ) s'rttem of pol:-t:-cs f o: .-:ri rorit\7

Studies )



raciall.,r oo-'l-a.::-=e'] votinq, 20

rrote:::, lr'lei:e t.:rere is alread'r Seve::e ::acial div'ision,
ani. r,r\ere :t l-s sinp1.7 impossil:l.e for minoritirtoters
to rar"'e an',,/ s:-snifiCant opoortunitV ::nrler the
electi- on sr.rstein a.s i t i.s . "
(-c21) "-1 related point (o t'.:e notion that sect:-on
? is just tc create an opportrrnit'r for partrcioation)
ti:atsevera1:ritnesseshavemace:!.sthesltcoestion
t'1at to a'll-cr': evidence of rac-ia.l- rsolaticn or
extreme pola;ization to constitute a factor in
leternininq r'r\eti'ier the electoraL svstem l-5 discrini-
nat,ort/ r.:ould- sonehor,r ccnstitute apcroval oi
ool-ariz&5,i on cr r.roulC foster racia.l- rlr',rision. Sectton
2 , of ccr:rse, r'riIl apply onlv in t,:lose pLaces r'rhere

tlere :-s an extraordinarlr anount of division, and to
say'1 that cieating a remedy for e:<clusLon l*ou1d foster
Ci'ri si on is Lil<e salzinc that a thernometer
cai.tses f ever. t'

?esti:n on'rz of ifon. F. Jarnes Sensenbrenner

( ?39 ) Sen. G"-\SSLEY, Please 1ool.. at the last
sentence o:l -Daare 5 of voltr testi-ncn'r, and then
f r.rani tc read f rcm page 30 of the i{ouse reDort, the
Last sentence on paoe 30. I qtre.ss rav pornt is f
ccnsider that tl:e t!\to sentences Co not sc:lare. I:
t:ev are intendeC to, I '.rou1C l-ike to haveyou
exolain ii or if t-'rere is an inccnsistenc',/, t,ren
exo'lain that as t,relf .

You sdy, "Even the I{ouse-passeC bill's strongest
supporters :,ri11 state it is not its 'i ntent to
,l.ecide r.rho *liL'l r'ri-n electi-ons but l:tst tc nal-.e Eure
that the rules apply fairly to aL1 tire participants. "

T':en cn Dac"e 30 f :om the :{ouse reDc:t , I r:itote, 'r it
'rer:'!C. be il-l-eqal- fcr an at-1ar,:e el-eeticn scheme fcr



RacialIv polarized votinq, 2L

a oarticul-ar State or local bodlz to permit a bloc-
rroting majcrity over a substantial period of time corl-
(390) sistently to defeat minority candidates'or
canCidates identified with the interests of a

racial or languaoe m5-noritY. "
Mr. SBNSENBREITNER.- I trould draw Vour attentj.on to

the two paragraphs r+hich precede the paragraph from

r.rhich you read in the House comdittee report.
Sen. GRASSLEY. I have alsoread those, too'
Mr. SENSENBRENNER. I think that the sentence that

vou have read has to be read in the total context of
the discussion that the House Judiciary eommittee made

relevant to amendments to section 2 of the act.

Q,rot." lanouaqe sayino,/$P$F"P€i"".r representation
i s not in itself a violation of section 2, nof is
there a rioht to proportional representation as a

reme<iv.]
Tl:en it goes on by saving this is not a ne\{ stan<lard,

and talks about various other factors sr:ch as single-
shot votinq, a polaritv of votincf qroups where people

cast the:-r votes along racial llnes, and the Iike.

(392) Sen. i{-a.TCI{. Jin, what in vou opiaion is the
resufts test? Speeificallv, t hat does j-t mean?

1..{.i. SENSENBREI{.1TER. The results test is if the
:esult of the procedure that is under challenge so

comoletely shr:ts out minoritY groups from the election
pi'ccess that thev do not have a prayer of being
eLected or taliing their case to the voters of
tnat particular area or state. and having a chance

of rvinning. r think you Save io look at the totality
of circumstances in order to srrSta'i-n a section 2

I awsuit.
sen. HATCH. i{or,r would lrou make that determination?

G'ive me some illustraticns of hol'r 'rrou n:ct1tt nake

sueh a Ceternination.



raqial Iy polarized votinq , 22

j

I'{r. SENSENBRE}INER. I nould say in the case of

s$!!g, if there isno way that a minority person

could be elect4d to the commission in l*Iobib, based

upon the way the situation eras set up, that would be

a case, Second, Lf there was a --
Sen. IIATCH. Let me see if I understand that; you

are saylng that if the most qualified person runnlng

I*1r, SEIISENBEENNER. Yes, could not be eLected

merely becuase of the color of his slcin.



Evcc-rpls %'n

g5

Racn'rL ?o\am'zah'on

OY ' 'vrq slofuine'vt* o? Se'ngJov 7w;n tAulq

.t.ho mcr rmnedlato oblective -of 
.h." aection-fs-ffiIE-tUel

iiffisill*"Jfr'*"""HtrJj.jiH''H:ff1:tLH:'fi ;
inH*:ffrff ffi :3l"r;il":lr,*x:liI#r,ffi:H,*3
ffi t#;ilffi [,e"li*d;;1,**,*"Slf ]ffi*,?rffi:t
ll* gruIntrtJlid, and that they lrag nothing whateo€ver to d;
ffih;;t;osidi"itions. Never inind that the casa against at'

lm"":LtgJ,l,*xi'*,rx*r"tlJn"#,l,'*"1?'-ffi:f;ilii,f,ii ;;ifihlt6;;;"il*""i irrritca, and that rhe influenc.
Iliricli ilh-i-i;"d *il[-t5!t .* concentrat€d in electorallv
safe and comfortable pglitical ghgt!)9:
fir!.;ffiil;ffifii q;"t 

"" 
th"t t[9 

'.ryutla-^t"p] ^I9Sg- 
b^Ti5P

tr,i'tliltif,rii"i' ;a:b-rh" voting fughts Act is totauy .r _{q;ilh;fi;i.ii; ttii tt"- c"osiit.rfioo las^ueeg -qg,g$.:l-*5ffi 'Rffffiffifi;;;;lh;"d; - Ei, " i. m'a of Hrcatbt 34
iil; t\"il-Bli[t" [fii-ie64. it^-i;tad" *itrr ttre ngtion t]rat Rep
iiliiitiro"-6*"- tt iir atte*isace to individtral citizens, not to

;fri;;;tl-il'[t"c". ii is .i'odds *ith t!r" moet tundarnental ideas

ilrff 
"i'"rliil-ina--tociJ*tr[o"9""n..1t'Indeed,tuS":,q^!-ry-*&tr;;il;ii6" i" i ii&t o"*"tti-'i"- p-.tg{t{f !19criDinatory r€EultE" is purest orweuianiem ln radrcauy EranarorrE-

ilililililirit-"r airc-"i-i""rlon .ry_l.a decisionmalcing procea

0 )a5

lgto an end or an outcone

Sb4u^i o? B<njam*'' +h"tT

tod.r r "raaulca" a.ac,rlnorlEy r'9r"'ncrGloo vltl ll'L'ty b' r trc'or

10 .acrbllrhlng Eh.G ln .llcGloo sch" hl' 
' 

dlsqt1llD'rory 'f['cli 
hfr'v'r'

alnorlty raPraaaoarcloo lr oo3 Eh' crotrrl focul of 
'h' 

lnqulr' &d ln 
'c

torcucx. uy mG b. a trcGor r3 
'll' 

tlod'r r "r'rul'r" 3"8' th' ferl 9ot!c

rt.crorata sl'GGt. eht3' c'Dd1d't'' Tb' lrllur' of Gh'G Prrdcluocly bLrcL

dlasrlcs Go alsct a blacl crqdld'G' ' elchouc rr' ' c'rlrlnl' rculd rct l"d co

| ^ 
-

vocto3.Graolch. noG rh. 'b''Ilt,

.Ircrrd. th.r. ry b. llac'rcu. " 
l' lh' cl"

il-*I*n cootr...lour Dt.rrlcE of ud J.r3.y (D"-rodloo), sh.r. . brek



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(oc^'A ?ola^'nh',*u 3
3* +e/n\!r^* o{ V,'lma l,lto,,rh'nc-

S. L992 r,lcu1,1 incorporate a ":esr-l1t"
s{:anCarC in Section 2 and therebrr clarifv
the l/otire ?.iahts Act !:y 

"o."i5'7ing 
i-ts

ad-option of pre-l,lobile standarCs of eviCence.
Usino the result standard, ':ict:rns of Cis-
crinination ',.rould be requireC to sho'.'l "ai1
agoreqate cf objective factors, such as a
history of Ciscrimination affec-"j-ncf t:e
riq5t to ',rote, raciallll pclellzed votincr
iLiscrrninator.l i
svstern, suclt as at-larcte elec-'ions, a majorrty
vote reauirement, a prohibition on sinqle-
shot voti-no, and numbereC posts 'vhich enhance
the cppor+,unity f or Ciscri-nination, and

rliscri:ninatory slatino or the failure of -

;nincr:-ties to win partv ncrnination,s." See
il.1. P'eport l(o. 9l-22'i , 97ti-t Ccnn. Ist
Sess. , at 30 ( Sept I5, 1931) . This "tctaLi-tv
cf cireumstances approach 'uas endor:ed b't.'

t'.re U.S. Supreme Court in -'Jh:te v. Refiester,
4L2 U.S. 155 (I97?), a :-anffi
iecision severeLv ercded brr l"lobile.

p.3o5

P 3ob
alcritra &Ericsu ars ercluded from tlre po[tiffi
votilt itt combhatioa witi metlrodr of election that minimirs aDd, in -.i'y corq
crgl orrt their vots. A ruultorientad Soction 2 ir crir'cd to our ability to-addru
tbir porrruive type of diecri.oination.

Tbe pruvalaaco of racially polarized voting cannot be over-emphaaize<L "It ia a git
uegioa rhsrc, whon candidrte of difrerront raoc ars runoing for tllo eano offico,
thr_-vglcrr_-w{l !y aod- lqrae y{q fgf the glndidat4 of thoir own racs." City of Rorn
v. U.8, a?2 F. tlupp 22r O.D.C. rgl9), Ef4 r00 S. Ct. 16{8 (1980). W}rea-cohbinedrith an othsruilo neutral oetlrod of eletioa, such as an at large election, uun-
b.rtd pda, or mqiority-vote rcquinment, racially polarized voting can Brrarant€o
ltut e minority candidato rill-not bo ol€ct€d, unls the candidatet race -mate up
frr moru th.n bslfofthe populatioa.
. Rrcidly polarir.d.voting in Torae.erten& thTuqhout_the Etare. l.€ttoro of objec-

tioa to propcod yoting chango. under Soction 5 ol the Votins Rights Act aro hot
irucd unlc tlrere ir evideaco of racially polarized votiag. The 86 lettarr iaaued
.ilco lyl6 bear witas to the pncvdenco of polarized voting.rr h addition, nuslor-
our rtudie of local Terae slectioar in which elctorr votad overvhelminclv for can-
didrtr of their own raca in Novembor l98l wers preeented during a triil-cballeng.
iDg tb€ reai*rlcting of the 23rd Coo$sioDsl Disthct ia Teraar. -

t gtdrtioo.qanot chargo the waj pople vote; our hope in amending Section 2 to



?*a'rl Pol .^'= oh,.n I

Tcoh'rvronq # P..rlh J')-hv enl*;a

(.3t+
rTfr-ould like to quote the League of Women Voters of Georgi,a,
whic.h eaid.

, The Voting Rights Act hag b6n ths mct far-rnsching, benoficial piece of qirdl-'-
.right legislsiionlhat hae come along ia receat hirtory. It-Eud Ue erteiaoa.Wdar,c'Ue-ing araSg€d, kiclring 6a6l scrcrniig, itrto tho 20th-cenurry, but therc cea bo ao
other ray of doirg iL Attitudc toward blactr have not chnnoeL We rtill havr eother ray of doing it toward blactr have not cha4od We rtill havr e

aad rcoovo tha frn of tba bl*Lr rho

Adding my own wordg to thae of the Georgia league, in claing,
I must emphasize the league's belief that at a time sr[ss mnny ooF
ered jurisdictiong arc still marked by racially polarized voti44agt-
r.rn,s; unoquan aro o
EEEtr-nt aitempts by State and local-offrcials to';8ko discrihils-
tory changee in voting and election prccedur.eo, there is little evi-
dence that covered jurisdictions are ready to accept full miaority
political participation without the effective protectiono of tlts act'a
epecial provisions. firee that are ready, thoee tlrat do not continue
to diecrimiaate, thoee that do remove barriers to voting aad elec-
tion participation, thee that eagage in outreach activities to make
regiatration in voting mora aoceraible to rninepity citizenE, will
.peat the crit€ri8 set forth in the bailout etrtion of S. 1992.