Prince William County has been exempted from the Voting Rights Act provision that placed it under federal scrutiny because of past racial discrimination at the polls, making it the largest municipality in the country cleared from the act’s requirements.
The county was freed from the Voting Rights Act of 1965 after proving to the Justice Department that it had not discriminated in its voting procedures for at least 10 years. The department formally approved the county’s exemption Tuesday.
Prince William County spent the past 15 months working with the NAACP and religious leaders trying to prove it had eradicated racial discrimination at the polls. The results of the 2010 census spurred the county to seek the exemption, officials said. The county’s population growth required extensive political redistricting, but, because the county was covered under the Voting Rights Act, officials had to get Justice Department approval before they could redraw those districts.
“It created a huge burden,” said county spokesman Jason Grant. “We couldn’t get it done before the last November election, and with the presidential election coming up, more people turn out for that. We have to notify people of what’s going on.”
Prince William is one of just 19 Virginia communities — including nearby Fairfax City SEmD to be removed from the act’s requirements. County officials say the exemption is also a symbolic victory, proof that Prince William has finally turned the page on a painful chapter in its history.
“The Justice Department and the courts have agreed that Prince William County, at least, has completely eradicated the last vestiges of those bad old days,” said Corey Stewart, the chairman of the board of supervisors in Prince William. “It is a symbol of the growth and prosperity and diversity of our county.”
States and communities covered by the Voting Rights Act must get “preclearance” from the Justice Department for any changes they make in their electoral process, from the redrawing of election districts to the movement of a single polling station.
Virginia remains covered by the act even though individual communities have been granted exemptions.
