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Page 1 Case 1:06-cv-00977-HHK Document5 Filed 06/23/2006 Page 1 of 8
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
CITY OF SALEM, VIRGINIA,
a political subdivision of the
Commonwealth of Virginia,
114 North Broad Street
City of Salem, Virginia 24153
Plainuff,
Vi
ALBERTO R. GONZALES,
Attomey General of the
United States of America;
WAN J. KIM,
Assistant Attorney General,
Civil Rights Division, United States
Department of Justice, Washington, DC,
Civil Action No. 1:06-cv-977
(BME, RJL, HHE)
Three-Judge Court
Defendants.
Smet Smet tte tee gt Sgt ge et ge gee ee i She et Se
STIPULATION OF FACTS
This action was initiated by City of Salem, a political subdivision of the Commonwealth
of Virginia (hereafter "the City"). The City seeks a declaratory judgment pursuant to Section
4(a) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended, 42 U.S.C. $1973b.
The parties have jointly moved this three-judge court for entry of a Consent Judgment
and Decree to resolve this action. In support of that motion, the parties have entered into the
following stipulation of facts. The facts in this stipulation may be received into evidence in lieu
of further proof or testimony.
It is hereby stipulated, by and between the respective parties, that:
1. Plaintiff City of Salem (“the City”) is a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of
Virginia and a political subdivision of a state within the meaning of Section 4(a) of the VotingPage 2 Case 1:06-cv-00977-HHK Document5 Filed 06/23/2006 Page 2of8&
Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. §1973b(a)(1). City of Salem, Virginia is located in the Shenandoah
Valley, approximately 240 miles from Washington, DC. The City covers 15 square miles.
2. There are no other elected governmental units within the meaning of 42 U.S.C.
§1973b(a)(1) that exist within the City of Salem.
3, The Salem City School System is governed by a five-member School Board appointed
by Salem City Council. School Board members serve concurrent three-year terms. The
Superintendent is the Board's chief executive officer and is appointed for a four-year term.
Currently, there is one black member of the Salem School Board and he serves as vice-chairman
of the School Board.
4, The City of Salem is a covered jurisdiction subject to the special provisions of the
Voting Rights Act, including Section 5 of the Act, 42 U.S.C. §1973c. Under Section 5, the City
is required to obtain preclearance from either this Court or from the Attorney General for any
change in voting standards, practices and procedures since the Act’s November |, 1964 coverage
date for Virginia.
5, The City of Salem was designated as a jurisdiction subject to the special provisions of
the Voting Rights Act on the basis of the determinations made by the Attorney General that
Virginia maintained a “test or device” as defined by Section 4(b) of the Act on November 1,
1964, and by the Director of the Census that fewer than 50 percent of the persons of voting age
then residing in the state voted in the 1964 presidential election. 42 U.S.C. §1973b(b). The “test
or device” triggering preclearance coverage under Section 5 was an article of the Virginia
Constitution providing for a literacy test as a prerequisite for citizens to become electors. Wa.
Const. Art. II, Sec. 20 (1902). The literacy test was repealed by the Virginia Constitution of
1972.
boPage 3 Case 1:06-cv-00977-HHK Document5 Filed 06/23/2006 Page 3of8
6. The Salem City Council is the governing body that formulates policies for the
administration of government in the City. The City has a five member city council. Members are
elected at-large and serve a four-year term. Terms are staggered such that at least two members
are up every two years. City Council elects the Mayor and Vice-Mayor from their members for a
two-year term.
7. According to the 2004 census, City of Salem, Virginia has a total population of
24,347. Of this number, 4,126 persons (or 5.9%) are black and 195 (or 0.8%) are Hispanic. The
voting age population of the City, according to the 2000 census, was 19,585, Of this number,
1,067 (5.4%) were black and 148 (0.8%) were Hispanic.
§. Like other jurisdictions in the Commonwealth of Virginia, the City does not collect or
maintain voter registration data by race. Current data show, however, that a significant
proportion of the City’s voting age population is registered to vote. As of 2005, there were
15,301 registered voters in the City of Salem. This constituted 78.7% of the City’s voting age
population.
9. The number of registered voters in the City of Salem has risen over the last couple of
decades. In 1995, for example, there were only 12,221 registered voters in the City. By 1998,
the number of registered voters had grown to 13,352. The number of registered voters in the
City has continued to rise over the last decade. From 1998 to 2005, the total number of
registered voters in the City grew by 24.3%, from 12,221 in 1995 to 15,201 as of 2005.
10, Voter turnout in elections within the City of Salem (i.e., the percentage of those
registered voters who cast ballots) varies according to the offices up for election. In the last three
Presidential elections in 1996, 2000, and 2004, for example, 81.2%, 72% and 73.7% of the City’s
registered voters turned out to vote, respectively. In the General Elections for Governor held in
3Page 4 Case 1:06-cv-00977-HHK Document5 Filed 06/23/2006 Page 4of8
November 1997, 2001, and 2005, 57.7%, 54.9%, and 53.1% of the City's registered voters turned
out to vote, respectively. Voter turnout for the Salem City Council elections in the last three
elections (1996, 2000, and 2004) was 38.2%, 35.6%, and 23.2%, respectively.
11. There currently are a total of 10 polling locations (and an additional central absentee
voting location) located conveniently to voters across the City. All polling places in the City are
accessible to voters with physical disabilities.
12. No minority candidates have sought election to the Salem City Council during the
last twenty years.
13. From the time of the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 until today, the City
of Salem has made numerous preclearance submissions to the United States Department of
Justice pursuant to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. §1973c.
14. Within the ten years preceding the filing of this action, the City of Salem has not
enforced any voting changes without first obtaining Section 5 preclearance.
15. The Attorney General has never interposed a Section 5 objection to any change
affecting voting in the City of Salem since the Voting Rights Act was enacted. The City of
Salem has never sought Section 5 judicial preclearance from this Court. The City has no
pending Section 5 submissions before the Attorney General.
16. Voter registration opportunities in the City are readily and equally available to all of
its citizens. The voter registration office for the City is located at 19 East Clay Street in Salem,
an annex of City Hall. The office is a central and convenient location for City residents. The
voter registration office is open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.Page 5 Case 1:06-cv-00977-HHK Document5 Filed 06/23/2006 Page 5of8&
17. Voters in the City of Salem may also register by mail, and voter registration
applications are available at locations convenient to voters in the City, such as the Division of
Motor Vehicles, Libraries, Post Offices, and other Government agency offices in the City.
18. The opportunity to become a registered voter in the City of Salem is also available
under the National Voter Registration Act (the “NVRA”) at Department of Motor Vehicle
(“DMV”) offices and public assistance agencies in the City, as noted above. While in past years
most voters became registered at the City’s voter registration office, the implementation of the
NVRA in Virginia over the last decade has changed the origin of the registration applications,
Today, many of the City's new registrants register through the DMV and by mail, and the
opportunities for persons to register to yote have been made more convenient and available as a
result of implementation of the NVRA.
19, The City of Salem has a three-member Electoral Board, appointed pursuant to
Virginia state law, Since 2002, one black citizen has served as a member of the three-person
Electoral Board. The Electoral Board nominates a roster of persons each February to work as
poll workers for a one-year term. Recommendations of persons to be appointed as poll workers
originate with the chairs of the local Democratic and Republican parties. No person
recommended by a political party chair to serve as a poll official has been rejected by the
Electoral Board for at least the preceding ten years.
20. Although the percentage of black citizens of voting age in the City is quite small,
black citizens have played an important role in the voter registration office. As noted above, see
420, supra, the Electoral Board in the City has had one black member. In addition, since 1996,
two black citizens of the City have worked in the voter registration office each February assisting
with the registration of high school students tuming 18 years of age. One member of the Salem
5Page 6 Case 1:06-cv-00977-HHK Document5 Filed 06/23/2006 Page 6of8&
City School Board is black, as is the City’s Chairman of the Planning Commission, and the
Director of the City’s Planning and Development Office (all appointed positions).
21. No person in the City of Salem has been denied the right to vote on account of race,
color, or membership in language group for at least the preceding ten years.
22. No "test or device" as defined in the Voting Rights Act (42 U.S.C. §1973b(c)) has
been used in the City of Salem as a prerequisite to cither registering or voting for at least the
preceding ten years.
23. No court of the United States has determined that denials or abridgments of the right
to vote on account of race or color have occurred in the City of Salem; nor has the City entered
into any consent decree, settlement or agreement resulting in any abandonment of a voting
practice challenged on such grounds. There is no pending action against the City of Salem
alleging such denials or abridgments of the right to vote.
24. The City of Salem has not employed any voting procedures or methods of election
that inhibit or dilute equal access to the electoral process by minority voters in the City.
Minority voters in the City of Salem are not being denied an equal opportunity to elect
candidates of their choice to the city council.
25, Federal examiners have never been appointed or assigned to the City of Salem under
Section 3 of the Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. §1973a.
26. Because there is no evidence that there has been any intimidation and harassment of
persons exercising rights protected under the Voting Rights Act in the City of Salem within the
last ten years, the City has not had to engage in any effort to eliminate such activity.
27, Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §1973b, the City of Salem has publicized its intention to
pursue a bailout. The City held a public hearing on May 8, 2006, and not a single person spoke
6Page 7 Case 1:06-cv-00977-HHK Document5 Filed 06/23/2006 Page 7 of 8
at the hearing in opposition to the bailout or raised any questions about the City’s proposed
bailout. The City published a legal Notice that it intended to commence and pursue the bailout
process and a notice of the public hearing on three occasions in the Salem-Times Register, a
weekly newspaper of general circulation in the City of Salem. These three publications were
made on April 19, April 27, and May 4, 2006. In addition, the City has posted copies of this
Notice “in the appropriate United States post offices” and at various public places throughout
City of Salem, including City Hall, the Office of Voter Registration, and the City’s public
library.
28. The United States has determined that It is appropriate to consent to a declaratory
judgment in this action, pursuant to Section 4(a)(9) of the Voting Rights Act. This consent is
premised upon an understanding that Congress intended Section 4(a)(9) to permit bailout in
those cases where the Attorney General is satisfied that the statutory objectives of encouraging
Section 5 compliance, and preventing the use of racially discriminatory voting practices, would
not be compromised by such consent.
29. The United States’ consent in this action is based upon its own factual investigation
and consideration of all of the circumstances in this case, including the views of minority citizens
in the City, the fact that there are no defendant-interveners, the affirmative steps taken by the
City to increase voter participation, and the absence of evidence of discrimination in the electoral
process within the City.Page 8 Case 1:06-cv-00977-HHK Document5 Filed 06/23/2006 Page 8 of 8
Approved as to form and content:
For the Plaintiff CITY OF SALEM:
J. GERALD HEBERT
Attorney at Law
5019 Waple Lane
Alexandria, Wa. 22304
(703) 567-5873 (O)
(703) 567-5876 (fax)
DC Bar No. 447676
For the Defendants:
ALBERTO R. GONZALES
Attorney General
WAN J. KIM
Assistant Attorney General
KENNETH L. WAINSTEIN
United States Attorney
JOHN. TANNER
DC Bar No. 318873
CHRISTY A. McCORMICK
VA Bar No. 44328
Attomeys, Voting Section
Civil Rights Division
United States Department of Justice
Room 7254 - NWB
950 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20530
(202) 514-2386
PDF Page 1
PlainSite Cover Page
PDF Page 2
Case 1:06-cv-00977-HHK Document5 Filed 06/23/2006 Page 1 of 8
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
CITY OF SALEM, VIRGINIA,
a political subdivision of the
Commonwealth of Virginia,
114 North Broad Street
City of Salem, Virginia 24153
Plainuff,
Vi
ALBERTO R. GONZALES,
Attomey General of the
United States of America;
WAN J. KIM,
Assistant Attorney General,
Civil Rights Division, United States
Department of Justice, Washington, DC,
Civil Action No. 1:06-cv-977
(BME, RJL, HHE)
Three-Judge Court
Defendants.
Smet Smet tte tee gt Sgt ge et ge gee ee i She et Se
STIPULATION OF FACTS
This action was initiated by City of Salem, a political subdivision of the Commonwealth
of Virginia (hereafter "the City"). The City seeks a declaratory judgment pursuant to Section
4(a) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended, 42 U.S.C. $1973b.
The parties have jointly moved this three-judge court for entry of a Consent Judgment
and Decree to resolve this action. In support of that motion, the parties have entered into the
following stipulation of facts. The facts in this stipulation may be received into evidence in lieu
of further proof or testimony.
It is hereby stipulated, by and between the respective parties, that:
1. Plaintiff City of Salem (“the City”) is a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of
Virginia and a political subdivision of a state within the meaning of Section 4(a) of the Voting
PDF Page 3
Case 1:06-cv-00977-HHK Document5 Filed 06/23/2006 Page 2of8&
Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. §1973b(a)(1). City of Salem, Virginia is located in the Shenandoah
Valley, approximately 240 miles from Washington, DC. The City covers 15 square miles.
2. There are no other elected governmental units within the meaning of 42 U.S.C.
§1973b(a)(1) that exist within the City of Salem.
3, The Salem City School System is governed by a five-member School Board appointed
by Salem City Council. School Board members serve concurrent three-year terms. The
Superintendent is the Board's chief executive officer and is appointed for a four-year term.
Currently, there is one black member of the Salem School Board and he serves as vice-chairman
of the School Board.
4, The City of Salem is a covered jurisdiction subject to the special provisions of the
Voting Rights Act, including Section 5 of the Act, 42 U.S.C. §1973c. Under Section 5, the City
is required to obtain preclearance from either this Court or from the Attorney General for any
change in voting standards, practices and procedures since the Act’s November |, 1964 coverage
date for Virginia.
5, The City of Salem was designated as a jurisdiction subject to the special provisions of
the Voting Rights Act on the basis of the determinations made by the Attorney General that
Virginia maintained a “test or device” as defined by Section 4(b) of the Act on November 1,
1964, and by the Director of the Census that fewer than 50 percent of the persons of voting age
then residing in the state voted in the 1964 presidential election. 42 U.S.C. §1973b(b). The “test
or device” triggering preclearance coverage under Section 5 was an article of the Virginia
Constitution providing for a literacy test as a prerequisite for citizens to become electors. Wa.
Const. Art. II, Sec. 20 (1902). The literacy test was repealed by the Virginia Constitution of
1972.
bo
PDF Page 4
Case 1:06-cv-00977-HHK Document5 Filed 06/23/2006 Page 3of8
6. The Salem City Council is the governing body that formulates policies for the
administration of government in the City. The City has a five member city council. Members are
elected at-large and serve a four-year term. Terms are staggered such that at least two members
are up every two years. City Council elects the Mayor and Vice-Mayor from their members for a
two-year term.
7. According to the 2004 census, City of Salem, Virginia has a total population of
24,347. Of this number, 4,126 persons (or 5.9%) are black and 195 (or 0.8%) are Hispanic. The
voting age population of the City, according to the 2000 census, was 19,585, Of this number,
1,067 (5.4%) were black and 148 (0.8%) were Hispanic.
§. Like other jurisdictions in the Commonwealth of Virginia, the City does not collect or
maintain voter registration data by race. Current data show, however, that a significant
proportion of the City’s voting age population is registered to vote. As of 2005, there were
15,301 registered voters in the City of Salem. This constituted 78.7% of the City’s voting age
population.
9. The number of registered voters in the City of Salem has risen over the last couple of
decades. In 1995, for example, there were only 12,221 registered voters in the City. By 1998,
the number of registered voters had grown to 13,352. The number of registered voters in the
City has continued to rise over the last decade. From 1998 to 2005, the total number of
registered voters in the City grew by 24.3%, from 12,221 in 1995 to 15,201 as of 2005.
10, Voter turnout in elections within the City of Salem (i.e., the percentage of those
registered voters who cast ballots) varies according to the offices up for election. In the last three
Presidential elections in 1996, 2000, and 2004, for example, 81.2%, 72% and 73.7% of the City’s
registered voters turned out to vote, respectively. In the General Elections for Governor held in
3
PDF Page 5
Case 1:06-cv-00977-HHK Document5 Filed 06/23/2006 Page 4of8
November 1997, 2001, and 2005, 57.7%, 54.9%, and 53.1% of the City's registered voters turned
out to vote, respectively. Voter turnout for the Salem City Council elections in the last three
elections (1996, 2000, and 2004) was 38.2%, 35.6%, and 23.2%, respectively.
11. There currently are a total of 10 polling locations (and an additional central absentee
voting location) located conveniently to voters across the City. All polling places in the City are
accessible to voters with physical disabilities.
12. No minority candidates have sought election to the Salem City Council during the
last twenty years.
13. From the time of the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 until today, the City
of Salem has made numerous preclearance submissions to the United States Department of
Justice pursuant to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. §1973c.
14. Within the ten years preceding the filing of this action, the City of Salem has not
enforced any voting changes without first obtaining Section 5 preclearance.
15. The Attorney General has never interposed a Section 5 objection to any change
affecting voting in the City of Salem since the Voting Rights Act was enacted. The City of
Salem has never sought Section 5 judicial preclearance from this Court. The City has no
pending Section 5 submissions before the Attorney General.
16. Voter registration opportunities in the City are readily and equally available to all of
its citizens. The voter registration office for the City is located at 19 East Clay Street in Salem,
an annex of City Hall. The office is a central and convenient location for City residents. The
voter registration office is open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
PDF Page 6
Case 1:06-cv-00977-HHK Document5 Filed 06/23/2006 Page 5of8&
17. Voters in the City of Salem may also register by mail, and voter registration
applications are available at locations convenient to voters in the City, such as the Division of
Motor Vehicles, Libraries, Post Offices, and other Government agency offices in the City.
18. The opportunity to become a registered voter in the City of Salem is also available
under the National Voter Registration Act (the “NVRA”) at Department of Motor Vehicle
(“DMV”) offices and public assistance agencies in the City, as noted above. While in past years
most voters became registered at the City’s voter registration office, the implementation of the
NVRA in Virginia over the last decade has changed the origin of the registration applications,
Today, many of the City's new registrants register through the DMV and by mail, and the
opportunities for persons to register to yote have been made more convenient and available as a
result of implementation of the NVRA.
19, The City of Salem has a three-member Electoral Board, appointed pursuant to
Virginia state law, Since 2002, one black citizen has served as a member of the three-person
Electoral Board. The Electoral Board nominates a roster of persons each February to work as
poll workers for a one-year term. Recommendations of persons to be appointed as poll workers
originate with the chairs of the local Democratic and Republican parties. No person
recommended by a political party chair to serve as a poll official has been rejected by the
Electoral Board for at least the preceding ten years.
20. Although the percentage of black citizens of voting age in the City is quite small,
black citizens have played an important role in the voter registration office. As noted above, see
420, supra, the Electoral Board in the City has had one black member. In addition, since 1996,
two black citizens of the City have worked in the voter registration office each February assisting
with the registration of high school students tuming 18 years of age. One member of the Salem
5
PDF Page 7
Case 1:06-cv-00977-HHK Document5 Filed 06/23/2006 Page 6of8&
City School Board is black, as is the City’s Chairman of the Planning Commission, and the
Director of the City’s Planning and Development Office (all appointed positions).
21. No person in the City of Salem has been denied the right to vote on account of race,
color, or membership in language group for at least the preceding ten years.
22. No "test or device" as defined in the Voting Rights Act (42 U.S.C. §1973b(c)) has
been used in the City of Salem as a prerequisite to cither registering or voting for at least the
preceding ten years.
23. No court of the United States has determined that denials or abridgments of the right
to vote on account of race or color have occurred in the City of Salem; nor has the City entered
into any consent decree, settlement or agreement resulting in any abandonment of a voting
practice challenged on such grounds. There is no pending action against the City of Salem
alleging such denials or abridgments of the right to vote.
24. The City of Salem has not employed any voting procedures or methods of election
that inhibit or dilute equal access to the electoral process by minority voters in the City.
Minority voters in the City of Salem are not being denied an equal opportunity to elect
candidates of their choice to the city council.
25, Federal examiners have never been appointed or assigned to the City of Salem under
Section 3 of the Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. §1973a.
26. Because there is no evidence that there has been any intimidation and harassment of
persons exercising rights protected under the Voting Rights Act in the City of Salem within the
last ten years, the City has not had to engage in any effort to eliminate such activity.
27, Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §1973b, the City of Salem has publicized its intention to
pursue a bailout. The City held a public hearing on May 8, 2006, and not a single person spoke
6
PDF Page 8
Case 1:06-cv-00977-HHK Document5 Filed 06/23/2006 Page 7 of 8
at the hearing in opposition to the bailout or raised any questions about the City’s proposed
bailout. The City published a legal Notice that it intended to commence and pursue the bailout
process and a notice of the public hearing on three occasions in the Salem-Times Register, a
weekly newspaper of general circulation in the City of Salem. These three publications were
made on April 19, April 27, and May 4, 2006. In addition, the City has posted copies of this
Notice “in the appropriate United States post offices” and at various public places throughout
City of Salem, including City Hall, the Office of Voter Registration, and the City’s public
library.
28. The United States has determined that It is appropriate to consent to a declaratory
judgment in this action, pursuant to Section 4(a)(9) of the Voting Rights Act. This consent is
premised upon an understanding that Congress intended Section 4(a)(9) to permit bailout in
those cases where the Attorney General is satisfied that the statutory objectives of encouraging
Section 5 compliance, and preventing the use of racially discriminatory voting practices, would
not be compromised by such consent.
29. The United States’ consent in this action is based upon its own factual investigation
and consideration of all of the circumstances in this case, including the views of minority citizens
in the City, the fact that there are no defendant-interveners, the affirmative steps taken by the
City to increase voter participation, and the absence of evidence of discrimination in the electoral
process within the City.
PDF Page 9
Case 1:06-cv-00977-HHK Document5 Filed 06/23/2006 Page 8 of 8
Approved as to form and content:
For the Plaintiff CITY OF SALEM:
J. GERALD HEBERT
Attorney at Law
5019 Waple Lane
Alexandria, Wa. 22304
(703) 567-5873 (O)
(703) 567-5876 (fax)
DC Bar No. 447676
For the Defendants:
ALBERTO R. GONZALES
Attorney General
WAN J. KIM
Assistant Attorney General
KENNETH L. WAINSTEIN
United States Attorney
JOHN. TANNER
DC Bar No. 318873
CHRISTY A. McCORMICK
VA Bar No. 44328
Attomeys, Voting Section
Civil Rights Division
United States Department of Justice
Room 7254 - NWB
950 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20530
(202) 514-2386
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