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Prince William County Seeks Redistricting “Bail-out”

Foto courtesy of Mexicanos Sin Fronteras Prince William County

The County Board of Supervisors of Prince William County in Virginia, recently filed papers with the U.S. Department of Justice requesting an opt-out from DOJ review of their redistricting plan, as mandated by the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The National Voting Rights Act is a federal law established to prevent the very same tactics Prince William County’s elected officials are using to dilute the voting power of their minority groups.

In their first proposal Prince William County diluted concentrations of African-American and Latino voters by splitting them into two and three separate districts respectively. Only after strong protests by state and national NAACP officials, the County Board corrected themselves reuniting the African-American community that had been split. However, they did nothing to fix the blatant split of a Latino community north of Manassas, despite repeated protests by residents. Alternative maps that would address the problem, presented during public hearings by community residents (click here to see maps) were ignored.

It is this type of tactic that makes it difficult for minorities to elected representatives from their communities to the County Board of Supervisors in Prince William, where despite the fact that minorities are a majority of its population, the entire Board is white and, almost entirely Republican.

It is important to note that this is the same Prince William County Board that has recently instituted laws and policies that allow racial profiling of the majority of their citizens. This is the same Board that has intentionally drawn maps to split African-American and Latino voters into multiple districts diluting their power as a voting block. If you follow the apartheid-like politics of Prince William County, it wouldn’t surprise you to hear that they just hired a prominent Alexandria attorney, Gerry Hebert, who specializes in obtaining Federal exemptions for local governments across the country? To do what? To get them off the hook for drawing illegal maps. Hey, chairman Corey Stewart, et al., what part of illegal don’t you understand?

Thankfully, many County residents have joined forces with Virginia New Majority and are challenging the cynical claim of the County Board: that they treat minorities fairly enough and that they should be excused from Federal oversight of their electoral processes. Nothing is further from the truth.

Since the National Voting Rights Act became law of the land in 1965, no Democratic Administration has been in office after redistricting to oversee the process. It will be the first time since 1965 that the possibility of challenging some of the dirty redistricting tricks might actually happen. DOJ Action in Virginia could finally level the playing field for minorities who deserve fair representation at all levels. Winning local races is an obvious and important step in reaching higher elected positions. It would also have implications for hundreds maybe thousands of similar fights that will take place across the country in the next 8 to 12 months.

The U.S. Department of Justice can reverse decades of discrimination. They can stop local governments from stacking the odds against minorities through illegal redistricting processes. Prince William County is their first chance. Virginia New Majority is leading a heroic fight against the County Board’s discriminatory ways. This week they filed a challenge to the county’s redistricting plans with the Department of Justice.

There is a lot on the line in Prince William. The County Board has gone too far. It is time they begin to pay a political price for their outdated discriminatory policies.