07-17-2001 La Porte Redistricting Committee Regular Meeting

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(back to index) • 51.50 Records concerning submissions. (a) Section 5 files: The Attorney General shall maintain a Section 5 file for each submission, containing the submission, related written materials, correspondence, memoranda, investigative reports;, data provided on magnetic media, notations concerning conferences with the submitting authority or any interested individual or group, and copies of letters from the Attorney General concerning the submission. (b) Objjection files: Brief summaries regarding each submission and the general findings of the Department of Justice investigation and decision concerning it will be prepared when a decision to interpose, continue, or withdraw an objection is made. Files of these summaries, arranged by jurisdiction and by the date upon which such decision is made, will be maintained. (c) Computer file: Records of all submissions and of their dispositions by the Attorney General shall be electronically stored and periodically retrieved in the form of computer printouts. (d) Thf: contents of the files in paper or microfiche form described in paragraphs (a) through (c) of this section shall be available for inspection and copying by the public during normal business hours at the'Voting Section, Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice, Washington, DC. Those who desire to inspect information that has been provided on magnetic media will be provided a copy of that information in the same form as it was received. Materials that are exempt from inspection under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552(b), may be withheld at the discretion of the Attorney General. Communications from individuals who have requested confidentially or with respect to whom the Attorney General has determined that confidentiality is appropriate under S 51.29(d) shall be available only as provided by S 51.29(d). Applicable fees, if any, for the copying of the conntents of these files are contained in the Department of Justice regulations implementing the Freedom of Information Act, 28 CFR 16.10. (back to index) 51.51 Purpose of this subpart. The purpose of this subpart is to inform submitting authorities and other interested parties of the factor;> that the Attorney General considers relevant and of the standards by which the Attorney General will be guided in making substantive determinations under Section 5 and in defending Section 5 declaratory judgment actions. (back to inndex) 51.52 Basic standard. (a) Surrogate for the court. Section 5 provides for submission of a voting change to the Attorney General as an alternative to the seeking of a declaratory judgment from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Therefore, the Attorney General shall make the same determination that would be made by the court in an action for a declaratory judgment under Section 5: Whether the submitted change has the purpose or will have the effect of denying or abridging the right to vote on account of race, color, or membership in a language minority group. The burden of proof is on a submitting authority when it submits a change to the Attorney General for preclearance, as it would be if the proposed change were the subject of a declaratory judgment action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. See South Carolina v. Katzenbach, 383 U.S. 301, 328, 335 (1966;). (b) No objection. If the Attorney General determines that the submitted change does not have the