Gaston County v. United States

• Decision Date: 16 August 1968
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 2196-66.
• Citation: 288 F. Supp. 678
• Parties: GASTON COUNTY, a political subdivision of the State of North Carolina, Gastonia, North Carolina, Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES of America, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

288 F. Supp. 678

GASTON COUNTY, a political subdivision of the State of North Carolina, Gastonia, North Carolina, Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES of America, Defendant.

Civ. A. No. 2196-66.

United States District Court District of Columbia.

August 16, 1968.

Grady B. Stott, Gastonia, N. C., and Wesley E. McDonald, Sr., Washington, D.C., for plaintiff.

Asst. Atty. Gen. (at the time the briefs were filed) John Doar and Monica Gallagher and Frank E. Schwelb, Attys., Dept. of Justice, for defendant.

Before WRIGHT and ROBINSON, Circuit Judges, and GASCH, District Judge.

J. SKELLY WRIGHT, Circuit Judge:

Gaston County, North Carolina, brought this action pursuant to Section 4(a) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1973 et seq. (Supp. II 1965-66), seeking a declaratory judgment that, during the past five years, no "test or device" within the meaning of the Act has been used in Gaston County for the purpose or with the effect of denying or abridging the right to register to vote or to vote on account of race or color. Although several other counties and one state covered by the Act have instituted similar actions,¹ this is the first case that has proceeded to trial. Since we are thus presented with a case of first impression as to the application of what has been described as the heart of the Act, we think it desirable, if not necessary, to elaborate in some detail upon our findings, which lead us to conclude that Gaston County is not entitled to the relief requested.

I

The effect of Section 4(a) of the Voting Rights Act² is to suspend the use of tests or devices prescribed by state law as a prerequisite to voting or registering to vote in those states or political subdivisions thereof that are included within Section 4(b)'s coverage formula. Under Section 4(c) the Attorney General designates those states or political subdivisions that on November 1, 1964, employed as a prerequisite to voting a "test or device," which includes "any requirement that a person * * * (1) demonstrate the ability to read, write, understand, or interpret any matter, (2) demonstrate any educational achievement or his knowledge of any particular subject, (3) possess good moral character, or (4) prove his qualifications by the voucher of registered voters or members of any other class." 42 U.S.C. § 1973b (c). Also under Section 4(b) the Director of the Census certifies any state or political subdivision in which the percentage of persons registered to vote, or who did in fact vote, in the presidential election of November 1964 is less than 50 per cent of the persons of voting age residing in the relevant area. Neither the determination by the Attorney General nor that by the Director of the Census is subject to judicial review. When a state or political subdivision is certified by both the Attorney General and the Director of the Census, it is listed in the Federal Register. Suspension of any test or device in that state or political subdivision is then automatic and immediate.

A state or political subdivision with respect to which the appropriate determinations have been made may wish to terminate the suspension of its test or device. Accordingly, the Act provides that it may bring suit for a declaratory judgment against the United States in this court,³ which is directed to be convened as a three-judge court. The requested relief will be granted, thereby permitting the state or subdivision to reinstate its test or device, if the court determines that no such "test or device" has been used anywhere in the territory of that state or subdivision during the five years preceding the filing of the action "for the purpose or with the effect of denying or abridging the right to vote on account of race or color." The state or subdivision bears the burden of proof, but the burden is not an unreasonable one since evidence that a state or political subdivision has engaged in the use of tests or devices for the purpose or with the effect of denying or abridging the right to vote on account of race or color does not preclude reinstatement of the tests or devices if "(1) incidents of such use have been few in number and have been promptly and effectively corrected by State or local action, (2) the continuing effect of such incidents has been eliminated, and (3) there is no reasonable probability of their recurrence in the future."⁴ 42 U.S.C. § 1973b(d).

Since the underlying policy and constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in general and Section 4 in particular have been sufficiently explored elsewhere,⁵ a detailed account of the Act's legislative history need not be recited here. Suffice it to say that Congress conducted exhaustive hearings which established quite clearly that the evils Congress tried to eliminate by its enactment of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957, 1960 and 1964 continued unabated in 1965, albeit perhaps in different forms. On the basis of these hearings, Congress concluded that the remedies it had previously provided—principally creating causes of action and authorizing standing to sue—were insufficient to rectify the situation and that it was necessary to depart from the use of the judicial process as the primary means of enforcing Fifteenth Amendment rights. Accordingly, Congress made its own findings of fact and from these findings it drew a logical inference—that is, the coexistence of low registration or voting and a test or device implied that the test or device was discriminatory in purpose or effect. Section 4(b)'s provisions defining those areas to be covered by the Act embody this presumption of discrimination.

II

Suit was filed in the present case on August 18, 1966, and the trial was held on June 21 and 22, 1967. Certain issues were disposed of by a pretrial stipulation of the parties. Thus it is uncontested that Gaston County, North Carolina, is a political subdivision of the State of North Carolina, that it is divided into 43 election precincts, and that in each precinct there is a registrar of voters who is appointed by, and an employee of, the Gaston County Board of Elections, which board is responsible for the administration of the elective processes.⁶ Article VI, Section 4, of the Constitution of North Carolina and Section 163-28 of the North Carolina General Statutes provide that "every person presenting himself for registration shall be able to read and write any section of the Constitution of North Carolina into the English language"; Section 163-28 further provides that "it shall be the duty of each registrar to administer the provisions of this section." The Attorney General of the United States determined that a test or device within the meaning of Section 4(c) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was maintained in Gaston County on November 1, 1964. The Director of the Census determined that fewer than 50 per cent of the persons of voting age residing in Gaston County voted in the presidential election of November 1964. These determinations were published in the Federal Register on March 29, 1966. 31 Fed.Reg. 5080-5081.

It is also agreed that in April 1962 the County Board of Elections, pursuant to North Carolina law, adopted a new system of voter registration, known as a permanent loose-leaf system, which required a general registration of all voters in Gaston County. Consequently, all persons now eligible to vote have been registered during or since April 1962, so that although the relevant period for purposes of this suit would ordinarily be five years preceding the filing of the action, or from August 18, 1961, we need only concern ourselves with registration activities since April 1962. Finally, the parties have agreed that from April 1962 to the effective date of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 oral literacy tests were used by the registrars, that such tests were replaced by written tests after that date, and that since March 29, 1966, the date on which Gaston County was listed in the Federal Register, literacy tests have not been used in Gaston County.

During the course of the trial, Gaston County presented six witnesses and the depositions of 13 additional witnesses, and introduced into evidence numerous exhibits. The thrust of the accumulated evidence was to show the impartial implementation of the new registration system. Thus there is credible evidence to establish that in April 1962 the number of voting precincts was increased for the convenience of the voters from 35 to 43; that the registration books have been kept open at the principal office of the County Board of Elections from 8:30 A.M. to 5:00 P.M., Monday through Friday⁷; and that registrars have been authorized—indeed encouraged⁸ —to be available to register any qualified person at any reasonable hour each day of the week and, in addition, to be at the precinct voting place on designated Saturdays throughout the registration period.⁹

Additional evidence establishes that the adoption of the new system received considerable publicity through the mass media. Newspaper advertisements, radio announcements and placards explained the mechanics of the new system, the need for registration and the names and addresses of registrars for all of the precincts. These efforts, which were utilized with some success in the April 1962 registration campaign, were repeated in 1964 prior to the general election and were in fact enlarged to include letters distributed to the schoolchildren urging their parents to register to vote.

Plaintiff's evidence also established that these publicity efforts were fairly directed to all persons residing in the county, regardless of race or color, and that special conferences were held with Negro leaders for the specific purpose of obtaining their assistance in informing Negro citizens of where and when to register. Indeed, three of the five commissioners (or so-called deputy registrars) appointed during the April 1962 registration campaign to assist in registration were Negroes. Moreover, there...