On May 12, a U.S. District Court Judge ordered Monterey County, California, to stop preparations for a special election to fill the vacant State Senate seat in the 15th district. See this story. The lawsuit had been filed under the Voting Rights Act. Monterey County is under section 5 of the Act. On May 20 a 3-judge court will hear the case, which alleges that the date set for the special election, June 22 (only two weeks after California’s primary) is a “change” that should have been cleared with the Justice Department. All such cases require 3 judges. The case is Buell v Monterey County, 10-cv-01952. One of the changes the county made (according to the complaint) is that it plans fewer polling stations in the special election than ordinarily. The complaint says the county should have received permission from the Justice Department before reducing the number of polling places.
Monterey County has now received pre-clearance from the DOJ for their initial submission on May 3, which was essentially notifying the DOJ of the schedule of the election.
Monterey County has never claimed that the special election was not a “change”. They notified the DOJ by telephone the day after the governor’s proclamation, and made their first formal submission 6 days later, which was before the lawsuit was ever filed.
Monterey County has made a supplemental submission to the DOJ regarding additional changes, which include moving two polling places (one from a church to a community center, another from a lodge to a grange hall); and some changes to handling absentee voting, such as including voter’s pamphlet’s in the mailing of absentee ballots, and trying to encourage overseas voters to vote by fax and e-mailing them their ballots.
There had been similar litigation prior to the 2003 recall election – though it was not about the recall election per se, but the moving of some ballot propositions from the March 2004 primary to the October 2003 special recall election. California queues qualified propositions to the next statewide election, so that after the special election was scheduled, the propositions were moved.
In 2003, the judge had threatened to block sending of absentee ballots as well, but the DOJ had stated that they did not interpose an objection. In 2003, Monterey County had proposed consolidating 36 precincts, but then agreed to not do so. So far they have only proposed moving two polling locations where there is a schedule conflict.
I think it’s time we overturn the Voting Rights Act. It has outlived it’s usefulness.