The Registrar's Window and the New Voting Rights Act
August 1965, a county in the Black Belt of Alabama. A census count puts about 15,000 Black residents in the county, of whom roughly 8,200 are of voting age. The registrar's own ledger shows 335 Black registered voters and 9,400 white registered voters. The county requires applicants to answer a 68-question 'literacy and interpretation' test that the registrar grades, to bring a registered voter to vouch for them, and to appear in person at an office open two days a month. A federal court has found the test was applied unequally; a state court has enjoined marches; the sheriff has announced that his posse will 'preserve order.' Congress has just passed a Voting Rights Act with a formula covering states and counties that used a literacy test and had low registration or turnout, providing for federal examiners and federal review of new election laws. You are a Justice Department attorney drafting an internal memo on whether this county should be designated.
1. Using the numbers, explain how the memo should argue that the Fifteenth Amendment was not being enforced and that Congress had authority to act.
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The arithmetic is the argument. 8,200 Black adults of voting age and 335 registered means roughly 4 percent registration, against about 9,400 white registrants. Even if the white voting-age population matched the Black population, that gap could not be produced by apathy alone; it tracks the administrative machinery - a 68-question test graded by an interested official, a voucher from an already-registered voter (a closed loop, since few Black voters exist to vouch), and two office days a month that fall on workdays.
Constitutional chain. The Fifteenth Amendment prohibits denial of the vote on account of race. A facially neutral test violates it when applied with discriminatory purpose and effect - which is what the federal court found. Section 2 of the amendment gives Congress power to enforce it 'by appropriate legislation.' Where state administration defeats the guarantee, Congress may substitute federal machinery: examiners to register voters and preclearance to stop new evasion. The formula is a rational way to identify the worst offenders rather than punish all states.
What the memo must avoid. Do not rest the case on the sheriff's rhetoric or on the number of marches. Those show tension, not disenfranchisement. Rest it on the registrar's ledger, the test, the office hours, and the court findings - records a reviewing court can verify.
2. Explain the difference between de jure and de facto discrimination in this record, and why the distinction determines which remedy the memo should recommend.
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De jure means discrimination written into or carried out through law and official procedure: the literacy test, the voucher requirement, the two-day office, and the registrar's grading discretion. De facto means a disparity that arises without official rule - for example, low turnout caused by poverty, distance, or fear.
Both appear here. The 4 percent registration figure is de facto in appearance; the test and office hours are its de jure cause. That distinction is legally decisive because the Fifteenth Amendment and the statute reach state action, not private attitudes. A remedy aimed at de facto causes - registration drives, transport, civic education - would be valuable and lawful, but standing alone it would leave the official machinery intact: the registrar could keep grading tests as he likes.
Consequences for the memo. De jure findings justify the strongest remedy available: federal examiners to register applicants directly, suspension of the test, and preclearance of new state and county election rules. De facto findings justify supplemental measures - federal observers at polling places, public information about registration dates. The memo should be explicit that the law cannot compel anyone to vote, only remove the official barriers; promising more than that will look like failure if turnout stays low.
It should also note the risk of evasion: a county that loses its test may adopt at-large elections, annexations, or shifted polling places. Preclearance exists to catch precisely that, and the memo should flag each as a foreseeable next move.
3. Rank the reliability of four items a historian might use - the registrar's ledger, the federal court's findings, the sheriff's press statement, and a civil rights organization's pamphlet - and explain the ranking.
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1. The registrar's ledger. Most reliable for the fact of registration numbers. It was compiled in the ordinary course of business by an official with no reason to inflate Black registration; in fact his interest ran the other way, which makes the low figure more credible, not less. Its limit: it tells you counts, not causes.
2. The federal court's findings. Reliable and consequential, but not neutral in the way the ledger is. A court finding is a legal conclusion built on selected testimony; it is authoritative about what the law treats as established, less so about the full texture of local practice. Use it for the finding of unequal application, not as a complete description of the county.
3. The sheriff's press statement. Weak as evidence, strong as an indicator of intent. It is a public performance aimed at reassuring white residents and warning marchers; 'preserve order' is a conclusion, not a description. It may nonetheless be the best available evidence of official hostility, which matters for proving purpose.
4. The organization's pamphlet. Least reliable for facts, most useful for perspective. It exists to mobilize supporters and raise money, so it selects the most dramatic incidents and may not verify names and dates. Read it for what participants wanted said and for leads, then confirm each claim in records.
The rule: reliability depends on the question. A source can be poor on facts and excellent on motives, and a memo that conflates the two will be easy to attack.