An electronic submission under Section 5 can be made via the internet from 8:00am Monday to 10:00pm Friday (Eastern Standard Time) excluding federal holidays. To file a submission electronically, click here.
SENDING MAIL TO THE VOTING SECTION
Please note, the Voting Section's postal address (P.O. Box 66128, Washington DC 20035) is no longer in effect.
The Department has established a single address for the receipt of all United States Postal Service mail including certified mail and express mail. All mail to the Voting Section must have the full address listed below:
Chief, Voting SectionDeliveries by overnight express services such as Airborne, DHL, Federal Express, or UPS should be addressed to:
Civil Rights Division
Room 7254 - NWB
Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20530
Chief, Voting Section
Civil Rights Division
Room 7254 - NWB
Department of Justice
1800 G St., N.W.
Washington, DC 20006
If you are sending a Section 5 submission, please make sure that the front of the envelope identifies it as a submission under Section 5 and that your return address is clearly indicated.
The Attorney General's authority under Section 5 has been delegated to the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. All decisions to interpose an objection or to withdraw an objection previously interposed, and all substantive decisions on state wide legislative redistricting plans are made by the Assistant Attorney General. For other types of submissions the Assistant Attorney General's authority has been delegated to the Chief of the Voting Section. Approximately half of the Voting Section's resources are devoted to the analysis of Section 5 submissions. Each submission is analyzed by a civil rights analyst or attorney, and that work is reviewed by at least one supervisory attorney.
Upon receipt of a submission, one or more staff members in the Voting Section are assigned to analyze the proposed change. The nature and extent of that analysis will vary, depending upon the change itself and the surrounding circumstances. It often involves telephone interviews with persons representing or associated with the submitting authority, and with private citizens, particularly members of racial or language minority groups. Communications from the public regarding pending submissions are encouraged, and all information or comments received are considered. As part of that analysis, submissions in our files may also be examined, as well as information available from the United States Census Bureau, the Internet, or other sources.
While every effort is made to complete the analysis so that a determination is made before the end of the 60-day review period, the factual and legal issues presented by a particular submission may be such that the information intially provided by the submitting authority considered together with the information obtained during our investigation is still insufficient to enable the Attorney General to make a determination that the proposed change does not have the purpose and will not have the effect of discriminating on account of race, color, or membership in a language minority group. While Section 5 authorizes the Attorney General to object to the submitted change on that basis, it is the Voting Section's general practice in such circumstances to request additional information, in writing, from the jurisdiction. Upon receipt of a complete response to the request for additional information, a new 60-day period begins for the Attorney General to make the requisite determination.
Back to topThe Section 5 administrative review process is designed to be an expeditious, cost-effective alternative to the Section 5 declaratory judgment process. Its success on this point is incontrovertible.
Central to the effective functioning of the administrative review option are the "Section 5 Guidelines" originally adopted by the Department of Justice in 1971 and modified in light of experience and legal developments on several occasions since then. Known formally as "Procedures for the Administration of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as Amended," they are codified as Part 51 of Title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The Supreme Court has noted on several occasions that the Guidelines are entitled to considerable deference by the courts because the Department of Justice played a central role in the drafting of the Voting Rights Act and is primarily responsible for its enforcement.
Back to topThe Section 5 Guidelines are written in easy to understand language and generally avoid "legalese." It is, therefore, unnecessary to include here a complete discussion of their contents. However, some specific issues discussed in the Guidelines should also be mentioned here.
First, a voting change must be submitted in written form to begin the review process. While no specific format is required, the submission ordinarily should include the required contents set forth in 28 C.F.R. 51.27 and the supplemental contents, as appropriate. Providing such information in the original submission usually will reduce significantly the need for Voting Section staff to contact the submitting official by telephone, and thus increase the likelihood of an early determination on the submission.
Second, a voting change must be procedurally appropriate for review on the merits. The Section 5 Guidelines discuss the types of circumstances that prevent the Attorney General from reviewing a submitted change on the merits.
In addition, new redistricting plans themselves often require that other voting changes be made, such as changes affecting voting precincts, polling places, and absentee voting locations. If these changes have been finalized, the jurisdiction should submit them for Section 5 review with its redistricting submission. The related voting change need not have been adopted by the jurisdiction making the original submission. For example, state legislation authorizing political subdivisions to adopt voting changes ("enabling legislation") requires review under Section 5. A political subdivision's implementation of the enabled change will not be reviewed under Section 5 if the enabling legislation has not been submitted for review or already reviewed.
Clearly, it is in the covered jurisdiction's interest to submit a voting change as soon as possible after it has been finally adopted, even if its implementation may be many months away (for example, in the next general election). To the extent procedural or substantive issues prevent a determination on the merits occurring within the initial 60-day review period, a prompt submission may allow a sufficient opportunity to resolve such issues in time for the practice (or a revised one) to be implemented as originally anticipated.
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