GATE CITY — The Scott County Electoral Board could seek an exemption from Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 pending a ruling on the matter by the U.S. Supreme Court that is due this summer.
Scott County Voter Registrar Mike Edwards discussed the issue at the Scott County Board of Supervisors March meeting.
Edwards said the county’s electoral board is contemplating the exemption, or bailout as it’s known, in order to make administrative changes to its voting process.
The administrative change the bailout is being sought for involves the counting of absentee ballots, Edwards said. For November elections, absentee ballots are counted at the central absentee precinct in Gate City, Edwards said.
During all other elections, absentee ballots must be taken to their correct voting precinct to be counted there. Edwards said he would like to make the procedure used for November elections the only one election workers have to follow.
The county does not have the authority to make those changes, however, due to provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Because Virginia is subject to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, all changes to Scott County’s Voting Ordinance must be pre-approved by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.
In order to receive a bailout, the county must show it has not had any voter discrimination issues for at least 10 years. Both Edwards and Scott County Attorney Sally Kegley said the county meets that non-discrimination requirement. So far, 34 counties in Virginia — including Washington County — have successfully sought bailouts from DOJ.
Edwards said a bailout would allow the county to make its own changes to voting procedures or polling locations.
“Instead of having to go through the Department of Justice, anytime you make changes to the voting process in the county, it will allow you to do that locally by ordinance,” Edwards said. “Currently, if we make changes — open a new voting precinct, close a voting precinct or change a location — then there is a process that you have to go through with the Department of Justice, and they either approve or deny that.”
Although supportive of Edwards’ request, supervisors felt it best to delay a vote on seeking the bailout until the Supreme Court hands down its ruling on the matter this summer.
The Court heard a challenge to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act earlier this month. Many court observers expect the five conservative Supreme Court Justices to declare that provision of the act unconstitutional.
“I think we need to delay and see what happens then, and that way we might not have to (ask for the bailout),” Scott BOS Chairman Danny Mann said. “I just think we need to delay it and see what happens in June, that way we might be able to save the county several thousand dollars.”
Fees for specialist attorneys to assist with the bailout process are often based on the county’s population. Scott County’s potential fee, if it chose to seek the bailout, would be around $5,000, county officials estimated.