Cain v. Lybrand

• Decision Date: 21 February 1984
• Docket Number: No. 82-282,82-282
• Citation: 465 U.S. 236,79 L.Ed.2d 271,104 S.Ct. 1037
• Parties: Thomas C. McCAIN and William Spencer, etc., Appellants v. Charles E. LYBRAND et al
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

465 U.S. 236

104 S.Ct. 1037

79 L.Ed.2d 271

Thomas C. McCAIN and William Spencer, etc., Appellants

v Charles E. LYBRAND et al.

No. 82-282.

Argued Oct. 31, 1983.

Decided Feb. 21, 1984.

Syllabus

Prior to 1966, Edgefield County, S.C., was governed by a three-member Board of County Commissioners, consisting of the County Supervisor, who was elected at-large, and two members who were appointed by the Governor. There were no residency requirements for the Commissioners. In 1966, the state legislature enacted a statute creating a new form of government for the county and altering its election practices. A three-member County Council was established, and the county was divided into three residency districts for the purpose of electing Council members. Voters throughout the county cast votes for a candidate from each district, and the candidate in each district with the most votes occupies that district's seat on the Council. The 1966 statute was not submitted to federal officials for approval as required by § 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In 1971, the 1966 statute was amended so as to increase the number of residency districts, and thus the number of Council members, from three to five, necessarily resulting in new district boundaries. This amendment was submitted to the Attorney General for his approval pursuant to § 5 of the Voting Rights Act, and, after requesting and receiving additional information (including a copy of the 1966 statute and information concerning previous candidates, election results, and residency district boundaries), the Attorney General stated that he did not object "to the change in question." Thereafter, appellants, black voters residing in the county, brought a class action in Federal District Court against appellee county officials, challenging the county's election practices on constitutional grounds. Ultimately, after protracted litigation and after appellants had filed an amended complaint alleging that the 1966 Act had never been submitted to federal officials for approval as required by § 5 of the Voting Rights Act, the District Court held that the Attorney General's request for additional information indicated that he had considered all aspects of the electoral scheme, including the changes effected in the 1966 Act, and that since the 1971 amendment retained such changes, the lack of objection to the 1971 submission necessarily constituted approval of those changes as well and rendered the failure to preclear the 1966 Act moot.

Held: The Attorney General's lack of objection to the 1971 submission cannot be deemed to have the effect of ratifying the changes embodied in the 1966 Act. Pp. 243-258.

(a) In light of the structure, purpose, history, and operation of § 5 of the Voting Rights Act, a State that seeks preclearance of changes in voting procedures pursuant to § 5 from the Attorney General, rather than a declaratory judgment from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, must do so in an unambiguous and recordable manner. The Act does not contemplate that a "submission" occurs when the Attorney General merely becomes aware of the legislation in question. The Act's purposes would be subverted if the Attorney General could be deemed to have approved a voting change when the proposal was neither properly submitted nor in fact evaluated by him. Pp. 243-250.

(b) Here, the submission of the 1971 amendment to the Attorney General required him to determine whether either the change in the district boundaries or the change in the number of districts had a discriminatory purpose or effect, but would not appear to have required him to pass on whether the 1966 changes represented a setback for minority voters. The additional information requested and received by the Attorney General does not suggest that he approved changes that he was not requested to approve and did not enable him to ascertain whether a covered change was made by the 1966 Act, much less evaluate whether the 1966 changes were discriminatory in purpose or effect when compared to prior practices. In order to pass on the 1966 Act, the Attorney General would have needed information concerning the pre-1966 election law and its practical effects, and he neither requested nor received such information. Pp. 250-254.

(c) When a jurisdiction adopts legislation that makes clearly defined changes in its election practices, sending that legislation to the Attorney General merely with a general request for preclearance pursuant to § 5 constitutes a submission of the changes made by the enactment and cannot be deemed a submission of changes made by previous legislation that themselves were independently subject to § 5 preclearance. A request for preclearance of certain identified changes in election practices that fails to identify other practices as new ones cannot be considered an adequate submission of the latter practices. Here, the 1971 submission failed to inform the Attorney General that the provisions of the 1971 amendment which merely recodified various practices contained in the 1966 Act were themselves changes that might give rise to an inference of discrimination. To the extent there was any ambiguity in the scope of the preclearance request, the structure and purpose of the preclearance requirement plainly counsel against resolving such ambiguities in favor of the submitting jurisdiction in the circumstances of this case. Pp. 256-257.

Reversed and remanded.

Laughlin McDonald, Atlanta, Ga., for appellants.

Barbara E. Etkind, Philadelphia, Pa., for United States as amicus curiae.

Karen LeCraft Henderson, Columbia, S.C., for appellees.

Justice STEVENS delivered the opinion of the Court.

In 1966, South Carolina enacted a statute that altered Edgefield County's election practices but the statute was not submitted to federal officials for their approval as required by the Voting Rights Act of 1965.¹ In 1971, the statute was amended, modifying the 1966 election practices, and State officials submitted the amendment to the Attorney General for his approval. In response to a request from the Attorney General, State officials provided him with additional documentation in support of their submission, including the 1966 statute. The Attorney General approved the submission, stating that he did not object to the change in question. The question in this case is whether the Attorney General's approval of the 1971 submission can be deemed to have the effect of ratifying the changes embodied in the 1966 enactment. We hold that the 1966 changes have not been approved.

I

As of November 1, 1964, local political authority in Edgefield County, South Carolina was vested in a County Supervisor and a Board of County Commissioners.² The County Supervisor, the chairman of the three member Board, was elected at large for a four-year term. The County Supervisor had jurisdiction over public roads, matters relating to county taxes and expenditures, and certain other matters. The other two seats on the Board were appointed offices. These two commissioners were appointed by the Governor, also for four-year terms, upon the recommendation of a majority of the County's delegation in the State legislature after a county-wide straw vote on prospective appointees. There were no residency requirements for commissioners. The Board had limited administrative and ministerial powers.³

On June 1, 1966, the South Carolina General Assembly enacted Act No. 1104, which was effective as a matter of state law when it was signed by the Governor on June 7, 1966. The Act created a new form of government for Edgefield County, altering the County's election practices. The office of County Supervisor and the Board of County Commissioners were abolished upon expiration of the incumbents' terms. A three member County Council with broad legislative and administrative powers was created,⁴ and the County was divided into three residency districts for purposes of electing Council members. To qualify as a candidate for a seat on the Council under the Act, an individual must be a qualified voter in one of the three districts and is required to register as a candidate from that district. The Council members, however, are elected at-large: voters throughout the county cast votes for a candidate from each district, and the candidate in each district with the largest number of votes occupies that district's seat on the Council. Council members are elected for two-year terms, and the members themselves annually elect a chairman.

The 1966 Act was amended in 1971 by Act No. 521, "An Act to Amend Act No. 1104 of 1966 . . . So As to Increase The Number of Districts And The Number of County Council Seats." ⁵ The 1971 amendment increased the number of residency districts, and thus the number of Council members, from three to five. Necessarily the change in the number of districts resulted in new district boundaries. Otherwise, the 1971 amendment did not alter the 1966 Act.

County Council elections in Edgefield County have been conducted under the basic scheme established by the 1966 Act since the first elections held pursuant to the Act in November 1966.

In 1971, state officials sent a letter to the Attorney General of the United States stating: "In accordance with the provisions of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, there are submitted herewith copies" of eighteen listed recent state enactments, which included the 1971 amendment regarding Edge- field County.⁶ The Justice Department responded to the request for clearance of the 1971 amendment by stating: "After a preliminary examination of H2206 [the 1971 amendment], it does not appear that we have sufficient information to evaluate the change in question." ⁷ The Justice Department therefore requested additional information from state officials—maps showing boundaries of current districts, population and registration statistics, recent election returns, "a copy of the election statute now in...